Delinquencies

There was an increase in total mortgage defaults during the fourth quarter but that rise has to be measured in context of what had been a favorable environment prior to the third-quarter storms.

From insights about borrower payment preferences to new automation assisting with natural disaster recovery efforts, here's a roundup of news coming out of the Mortgage Bankers Association Servicing Conference.

Loans late by 90 days or more are increasingly concentrated in parts of Florida, Georgia and southeast Texas as fallout from the storms continues to weigh on the market.

The weighted average FICO credit scores of securitized reperforming loans are deteriorating a little, according to a DBRS study of the bonds.

Fannie Mae's serious delinquency rate climbed to a high not seen since March 2017, but remained lower than it was 12 months prior.

Residential and commercial property tax delinquencies are slightly higher in the Northeast and South than in the Midwest and West, but improving economic conditions are keeping the national delinquency rate in check.

The long-running slide in mortgage payments 60 or more days past due will continue next year, and perhaps even longer as borrowers benefit from favorable economic conditions.

The three major hurricanes that caused so much devastation during August and September was largely responsible for the third-quarter increase in mortgage delinquencies.

The 60-day-plus mortgage borrower delinquency rate dropped to the lowest point since the recession suggesting that there is still room to broaden credit.

Despite continued growth in national home prices, housing remains more affordable today than long-term benchmarks, according to Black Knight.

Serious delinquencies on Federal Housing Administration loans popular among first-time home buyers with affordability constraints have improved this year, but may be reaching a plateau.

The new tool tracks both serious and general delinquencies down to a county level and features interactive charts and graphs.

Mortgage delinquencies in cities where the economy is dependent upon the oil industry are on the upswing, even as nationwide default rates remain near 10-year lows, CoreLogic said.

Four neighborhoods hit hardest by Hurricane Harvey have limited resources and are in most need of federal, state and local assistance for property repair and rehabilitation costs.

Ginnie Mae is giving expanded loan buyout authority to certain issuers in order to help them remove loans affected by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey from securitized mortgage pools.

Mortgage delinquencies in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey last month were 16% higher than in July, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Mortgage investors want Freddie Mac to align its policy with Fannie Mae's when it comes to how delinquencies related to Hurricane Harvey affect credit risk transfer deals.

Over one-quarter of all mortgages in the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey are likely to become delinquent because of the storm, according to an analysis from Black Knight.

Ginnie Mae will help issuers with certain servicing obligations if more than 5% of their portfolios are in areas Hurricane Harvey has ravaged.