The mortgage delinquency rate in the US dropped in the fourth quarter, as the economy eased but home foreclosures rose, said the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
Mortgage delinquency rate on single-family homes declined to 8.22 percent in Q4 from 9.13 percent in Q3, according to the MBA quarterly study. The number of mortgages that were 30 days past due also fell to 3.25 percent from 3.36 percent.
Jay Brinkmann, Chief Economist at the MBA, attributed the improvement to the strengthening economy and stabilising labour market seen at the end of last year.
“We would expect a continued drop, barring any significant change in the economy,” he said.
Foreclosures also started to ease but the number of mortgages in the foreclosure process surged, as major lenders halted foreclosures due to the investigations into the industry.
“We have fewer loans going into the bucket; it’s just that, for a while, it was taking the bucket a lot longer to empty,” said Mr. Brinkmann, adding that he expects the amount of inventory to start decreasing.