Black Knight: Mortgage Delinquency Rate Increased in November; Prepayments at Record Low

From Black Knight: Black Knight’s First Look: Prepayments Hit Third Consecutive Record Low in November, While Mortgage Delinquencies Top 3.0% and Foreclosure Starts Bounce 19%
• Prepayment activity in November dropped 15.6% to a single month mortality (SMM) rate of 0.40% – once again marking the lowest rate on record since before 2000 when Black Knight started reporting the metric

• The national delinquency rate rose another 3.5% in November to 3.01%, up 10 basis points since October, driven by a 31K (+3.9%) increase in 30-day delinquencies and a 25K (+11%) rise in 60-day delinquencies

• The delinquency rate in Florida rose another 18 basis points in the month to 3.60% as the impact of Hurricane Ian on homeowners’ ability to make mortgage payments continues

• Improvement among seriously past-due loans continues to stagnate, with the population of 90-day delinquencies ticking down -0.2% from the month prior

• Foreclosure starts rose again (+19%) on the heels of October’s increase, but the month’s 23.4K starts are still below the recent high seen in June 2022 and remain 30% below pre-pandemic levels

• Foreclosure was started on 4.3% of serious delinquencies in November, up 7 basis points from October but still 44% less than the rate seen in the years leading up to the pandemic

• Active foreclosure inventory rose 5.3%, though 2022 volumes remain subdued after the record lows of 2021 due to widespread moratoriums and forbearance protections
emphasis addedAccording to Black Knight’s First Look report, the percent of loans delinquent increased 3.5% in November compared to October and decreased 16% year-over-year.

Black Knight reported the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) was 3.01% in November, up from 2.91% in October.