The MBA National Delinquency Survey released Thursday morning shows the delinquency rate on loans that have missed at least one payment fell to 7.09% in the fourth quarter, a decrease of 31 basis points from the third quarter and 49 basis points from a year ago.
“We are seeing large improvements in mortgage performance nationally and in almost every state,” said MBA chief economist Jay Brinkmann.
Foreclose starts fell to 0.7% in the fourth quarter, down 29 bps from a year ago.
Meanwhile, the fourth-quarter serious delinquency rate was 6.78% for all loans that are 90 days or more past due or in foreclosure, down 25 bps from the third quarter and 95 bps from a year ago.
The performance of Federal Housing Administration loans was “mixed,” according to the fourth-quarter MBA report. The serious delinquency was unchanged quarter-over-quarter at 8.54%.
After a surge in FHA foreclosure starts in the second quarter, starts fell to 0.86% by yearend—nearly half the rate (1.53%) back in June.
Meanwhile, the serious delinquency rate on prime loans was 4.34% at yearend and 21.7% on subprime loans.
