Foreclosures

The mortgage delinquency rate dipped to a 12-year low, but overvalued housing markets and eventual reversal in the unemployment rate present risk for future delinquencies, according to CoreLogic.

Three people who fraudulently obtained $9.3 million in mortgage loans involving homes in Modesto, Patterson and Lathrop, Calif., have received multiyear federal prison sentences.

Mortgage delinquencies inched up, in part from natural disasters hindering homeowner performance, but a stronger economy is still keeping defaults low, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Wells Fargo said Tuesday that an internal error that affected customers requesting mortgage modifications to remain in their homes impacted hundreds more people than the bank initially thought.

Excellent credit quality and strong performance of post-housing-crisis originations resulted in a steep decline in foreclosure starts in September, according to Black Knight.

Housing policies are helping the number of vacant foreclosure homes drop, which could also mean homebuyers have been taking advantage of these properties as inventory continues to be constrained, according to Attom Data Solutions.

After falling to its lowest level in over 12 years, servicers expected September's surge in delinquencies following the damage of Hurricane Florence, according to Black Knight.

The Federal Housing Administration is making it easier for reverse mortgage servicers to submit insurance claims by expanding the types of supporting documentation it will accept on defaulted loans.

Natural disasters are now the leading driver of lenders' foreclosure risk, with last year's hurricanes causing a rise in third-quarter filings in affected markets, according to Attom Data Solutions.

The mortgage delinquency rate fell to a 12-year low, with declines expected to continue as the unemployment rate stays down, according to CoreLogic.