The US housing market has seen a positive trend with a better-than-expected jobs market, leading to a decline in the national delinquency rate in January 2023. According to Black Knight Inc.’s loan performance data, delinquencies were down across the board falling to 3.38% of homeowners’ month-over-month and down 15.1% year-over-year. The number of borrowers 30-days late decreased by 46,000 (-4.8%), and 60-day delinquencies also ticked down slightly. Nationally, the number of serious delinquencies, which are loans that are 90 or more days past due, continued to show improvement by decreasing by 4,000. This trend was observed in 44 states, where serious delinquencies decreased.
Foreclosure starts continued to increase in the latest month, though they still remain significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. In January, foreclosure starts climbed 17% to reach 33,000 loans. However, even with this increase, the number of foreclosure starts remains 37% lower than pre-pandemic levels. Among serious delinquencies, foreclosure was initiated on 5.6% of them in January, which is a 48% decrease compared to January 2020. The active foreclosure inventory went up by 2.5% in the month and has now risen by 48,000 or 20% since January 2022. Nevertheless, it is still nearly 20% lower than pre-pandemic levels. In January, a total of 7,000 foreclosures were completed across the country, representing a 15.2% increase from the previous month, but remaining almost 50% below early 2020 levels.
Florida, which is still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, saw another 1.7K loans fall into serious delinquency. Despite the increase in foreclosure starts, active foreclosures are still 20% below pre-pandemic levels.
Black Knight Inc.’s loan performance data provides insights into the loan performance of a significant portion, 60%, of active mortgages throughout the country. Ben Graboske, President of Black Knight Data & Analytics, emphasized the critical role that Black Knight Inc. plays as a public provider of objective and unvarnished housing and mortgage market data and analysis, particularly as the economy continues to evolve.
The data from Black Knight Inc. shows that the US housing market is continuing to improve, despite some areas experiencing setbacks. As the economy continues to evolve and change, it’s important to have access to objective data and analysis to make informed decisions.
