Distressed

The overall number for late payments hasn’t looked this favorable since at least 1999, according to CoreLogic’s December report.

The number of properties in limbo is up 10.3% from the same time last year, according to Attom Data Solutions.

However, while the national average is not too far from its decade-low of 5.4%, the range found in different states varies considerably.

The total percentage of loans that were not delinquent or in foreclosure rose slightly to 94.91% in January.

Recent reports by Standard & Poor’s, Experian and an industry trade group show changes in loan performance and credit over the course of the past month.

An uptick in pandemic-related payment suspensions reflecting new or restarted plan activity previously occurred as the omicron variant spread, but activity has since subsided.

While the significant drop in suspended payments overall from the pandemic’s peak suggests many have recovered from related hardships, the uptick points to some new distress.

The number of loans with payments 90-plus days late but not in foreclosure has fallen below 1 million, but the total is still double pre-pandemic levels, according to Black Knight’s measure.

The residential market is generally healthy, but distress is growing in areas where foreclosures are more common, homes are less affordable, and more properties are underwater, Attom finds.

The remaining 705,000 borrowers with pandemic-related payment suspensions may have complex or recent hardships to sort out, but the majority who had plans have exited them.