The percentage of
The Santa Ana, Calif., title insurer's monthly Loan Application Defect Index declined 2.5%, compared to September. It also dropped by 10.2% compared to the same period last year.
Representing the third month-over-month drop, the October results also reverse the trend of growing defects registered earlier in the year. The Defect Index was also 22.3% lower than its October 2013 peak.
"The reduction in risk is occurring across property type, occupancy, loan purpose, and whether [it is] a conforming conventional or Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs or U.S. Department of Agriculture loan," said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, in a Nov. 24 press release.
"While risk is declining overall, there are still categories of loans that are riskier," he added, citing self-reported investor, adjustable-rate and multi-unit transactions.
