St Casimirs Mortgage Minute

MBA: Foreclosure Starts Lowest in 16 Years

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey indicates that the residential mortgage delinquency rate stood at 4.77 percent in the first quarter, holding steady from the fourth quarter but down 77 points from the year-ago quarter. That rate is the lowest since 2006 and has returned to typical pre-recession levels. The report also shows that foreclosure starts fell to 0.35 percent in the first quarter, down one basis point from the fourth quarter and 10 basis points from the year-ago quarter, marking their lowest level since mid-2000. "A total of 28 states and Washington, D.C. either saw decreases or no change in the foreclosure starts rate this quarter, while the remaining 22 states experienced increases in the foreclosure starts rate. Only two of these 22 states have strictly non-judicial processes in place," says Marina Walsh, vice president of industry analysis at the MBA. Furthermore, mortgages in the foreclosure process dropped to 1.74 percent, down three basis points from the fourth quarter and 48 basis points from a year ago, and the serious delinquency rate was 3.29 percent, down 15 basis points from the fourth quarter and marking the lowest rate since 2007.

From "MBA: Foreclosure Starts Lowest in 16 Years"
HousingWire (05/12/16) Ramírez, Kelsey