Distressed

The number of homes with default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions last month was down from January but up 20% from a year ago.

While overall delinquencies eased in January, foreclosure starts jumped to their highest point since early 2020, signaling growing strain among late-stage borrowers despite steady mortgage performance.

Total consumer debt in the United States hit $18.2 trillion by the end of last year, with $12.8 trillion attributed to first mortgages, according to Equifax.

For five of the six private mortgage insurers, the surge of originations during the fourth quarter led to more new business versus the prior three months.

About 1.3% of residential properties in the United States were vacant at the beginning of the year, Attom found.

TransUnion projected moderate growth in 2026 for mortgages, projecting purchases and refinances to increase 4% and 4.2% year over year.

Mortgage delinquencies increased across loan types, and while 30-day late payments showed overall improvement, later-stage distress worsened.

Borrowers in the lowest-income areas have seen their 90 or more day delinquency rates soar since 2021, jumping from 0.5% to nearly 3%, the New York Fed said.

Rising defaults, fraud risks, and collapsing rents are converging in urban multifamily, threatening lenders and taxpayers, according to the Chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Less than 45% of mortgage residential properties in the United States were equity-rich last quarter, a 1.5-percentage-point drop from the third quarter.

VA- and FHA-backed mortgages helped drive the increase in property volume, but sales did not maintain the same pace, according to Auction.com.

Overall, three-quarters of those in a National Mortgage News survey believe loan production will increase during 2026, but just 15% felt strongly about it.

Prepayment speeds approached recent highs last month, but distressed borrower data paints a mixed picture about the current housing market, according to ICE.

Foreclosure filings were reported on more than 360,000 properties in the United States last year, up 14% from 2025 and 3% from 2023, according to Attom.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is selling more due-and-payable HECMs on homes that are occupied while reviewing the loan program.

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp and Citigroup will streamline borrower requests for an additional 90-day forbearance, allowing verbal applications.

Fitch Ratings' outlooks for mortgage and title insurers this year are neutral, as housing deals with affordability challenges and a likely economic downturn.

Rialto Capital allegedly engineered a way to keep it in default so that the company could win extra fees over time, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Our experts expect a mortgage market reset in 2026 with an uptick in originations, but warn lenders not to skimp on compliance even as the reins loosen.

The Massachusetts Democrat requested to see records related to second liens that banks were required to expunge per terms of the 2012 mortgage settlement.