WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 15, 2024) - The mortgage delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.97 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the second quarter of 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey.

The delinquency rate was up 3 basis points from the first quarter of 2024 and up 60 basis points from one year ago. The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started in the second quarter fell by 1 basis point to 0.13 percent.

Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA's Vice President of Industry Analysis . . .

"Mortgage delinquencies increased across all product types compared to this time last year. While delinquencies are still low by historical standards, the recent increase corresponds with a rising unemployment rate. Both have been historically closely correlated with mortgage performance."

Walsh added,

"The composition of mortgage delinquencies by stage has evolved. As of the second quarter of 2024, the earliest stage delinquencies - those loans 60 days or less delinquent - accounted for the entire increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, seriously delinquent loans - those loans 90 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure - fell to their lowest levels since 1984 as servicers are helping at-risk homeowners avoid foreclosures through loan workout options that can mitigate temporary distress."

This graph shows all loan delinquencies (blue) and the Civilian Unemployment Rate (gold.). Bill McBride's graph at Calculated Risk refines the numbers to 30, 60, and 90 days delinquent and in foreclosure. Overall delinquencies increased in Q2. The sharp increase in 2020 in the 90-day bucket was due to loans in forbearance (included as delinquent, but not reported to the credit bureaus).

For the purposes of the survey, MBA asks servicers to report loans in forbearance as delinquent. If payments were not according to the original terms of the mortgage.

NOTE: For non-seasonally-adjusted (NSA) supplemental information on the performance of servicing portfolios by investor type, loans in forbearance by investor type, and the status of post-forbearance workouts, as well as servicer call volume metrics, please refer to MBA's Monthly Loan Monitoring Survey at www.mba.org/lms. July 2024 results will be released on Monday, August 19, 2024.