First-lien mortgage delinquencies are up two basis points in October over September while second-lien late pays are up three bps, says the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.
The 1.30 October first-mortgage index level is down 17 basis points from the same period in 2012. But the second-lien index of 0.72 is a seven basis point increase over October 2012.
The composite index of 1.38, which also includes bank cards and auto loans, is unchanged from September and down 17 bps from 1.55 in October 2012.
The increase might be just “random noise” in the data, says David Blitzer, managing director of S&P Dow Jones Indices. The change is too small to have any significant meaning.
What could be driving the month-to-month increase in delinquencies is now that the market is returning to a more normal state, the late payment pattern is
Traditionally, mortgage delinquencies start to rise at the tail end of the year. However, they are right now rising at pace less than they did the previous year, he says.
Holidays also play a factor in delinquency patterns. December typically has more late payments than November because of the additional bills created by gift buying.
This movement is expected and not a concern for companies like Radian, Ibrahim says.
