As Harvey's impact fades, certain delinquencies remain elevated

Local delinquencies that rose in Hurricane Harvey's wake may be lower than they were right after the storm, but they are still higher than they were a year ago.

The Houston area's 30-day-plus delinquency rate in January was 9.1%, according to CoreLogic's Loan Performance Insights Report. In January 2017, it was 5.9%.

In contrast, the 30-day-plus delinquency rate in the U.S. as a whole dropped to 4.9% in January 2018 from 5.1% a year earlier, and the serious delinquency rate that fell to an 11-year low last month remained unchanged.

"Except for the metropolitan areas affected by natural disasters, most of the country has seen delinquency and foreclosure rates move lower over the past year," Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic, said in a press release.

The U.S. delinquency rate for loans late by 30 to 59 days dropped to 2% from 2.1% a year ago, and the delinquency rate for loans 60 to 89 days late fell to 0.7% from 0.8% during the same time period.

Similarly, the delinquency rate for loans 90 to 119 days late declined to 0.4% from 0.5% between January 2017 and January 2018, and the 120-day-plus delinquency rate of 1.6% is down from 1.9% 12 months prior.

In comparison, the delinquency rate for loans late by 90 days or more was the same as it was in January 2017 at 1.5%.

But the rate at which loans went into foreclosure was lower at 0.6% in January 2018, compared to 0.8% in January 2017.