Mortgage Delinquencies Continue Slow and Steady Improvement; Foreclosure Activity Remains Muted Even As Forbearance Exits Mount

• The national delinquency rate continued its trend of slow but sustained improvement, falling another 4.25% to 3.74% at the end of October
• A decline of 82,000 in the number of loans 30 or more days past due brought the total number of such loans below 2 million for the first time since the run-up early on in the pandemic
• Serious delinquencies – those 90 or more days past due – saw a greater than 10% decline (-127,000) as the first wave of forbearance entrants reached the end of their terms and returned to making payments
• With the majority of plan exits in recent weeks still working through loss mitigation options with their servicers, further improvement in serious delinquency rates is expected in coming months
• Despite nearly 700,000 more seriously delinquent mortgages (including those in active forbearance plans) than prior to the pandemic, foreclosure activity continues to remain extremely limited
• Foreclosure starts edged upward by a modest 2.6% in October, as servicers continue to work through loss mitigation options with homeowners still struggling to return to making mortgage payments
• The 4000 foreclosure starts seen in October are more than 90% below 2019 levels and, despite a rise of 3,000 for the month, active foreclosure inventory remains near an all-time low