Arrears on loans secured by one-to-four unit residences fell back to a seasonally adjusted 3.56% in the first quarter, marking the second-lowest level seen in the Mortgage Bankers Association's survey.
The move continues a trend of delinquencies remaining at or near survey-record lows in the past year.
Late payments reached their low in
The strong loan performance correlates with a low overall unemployment rate for U.S. workers despite layoffs in some industries,
"Consistent with the resilient job market, the performance of existing mortgages is exceeding expectations," said Marina Walsh, MBA's vice president of industry analysis, in a press release.
However, with the MBA forecasting broader economic weakness and rise in total jobless claims later this year, going into 2024, that could change.
The MBA defines any payment not made in line with the original terms of the mortgage as a delinquency, and noted the evolution of loss mitigation strategies like modifications will play a role in what future trends in arrears look like. The association's data goes back to 1979.
In related news, real estate data curator Attom reported that foreclosure activity experienced a near-term dip during April in line with seasonal trends but was higher than a year earlier.
Foreclosure filings, at 32,977, were down 10% from the previous month but up 8% from a year earlier. Starts, at 24,455, dropped 7% from March but represented an increase of 1% from April 2022. Completions, at 2,919, fell 39% from the previous month but rose 3 from a year ago.
"The month of April typically exhibits a recurring trend of decreased activity," said Rob Barber, CEO of Attom, in a press release.
