Despite seasonal headwinds, mortgage delinquencies improved for the sixth consecutive month in November.
Black Knight’s latest mortgage performance report showed that there were approximately 56,000 fewer homeowners past due on their mortgages in November. The national delinquency rate dipped from 6.44% to 6.33% month over month and is now down 1.5% from its peak of 7.8% in May, but is still 3% above pre-pandemic levels.
But while early-stage delinquencies (30 days past due) have fallen below their pre-pandemic norms, serious delinquencies (90+ days past-due) remained 1.8 million above pre-COVID levels.
Black Knight noted that its delinquency figures count all homeowners who have missed payments, whether they are in forbearance plans or not.
Widespread moratoriums have kept foreclosure activity muted, with both foreclosure starts and (4,400) and the number of loans in active foreclosure (176,000) hovering at all-time lows. Meanwhile, prepayments dropped 11% in November from the previous month’s 16-year high.
“However, with interest rates at record lows and refinance incentive at an all-time high, prepay activity is likely to remain elevated in the coming months,” Black Knight forecasted in the report.