Mortgage Delinquency Rate on All Outstanding Loans Declined in Q4 of 2020

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest National Delinquency Survey, released on Thursday (2-11-21), in Q4 of 2020 the delinquency rate for mortgages on one-to-four-unit residential property decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.73% of all outstanding loans. The delinquency rate was down 92 basis points from the third quarter of 2020, but up 296 basis points from one year ago. The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started in the fourth quarter remained unchanged from the last two quarters at a survey low of 0.03%. In prepared remarks for the release of the survey, Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis, said, “For the second consecutive quarter, homeowners’ ability to make their mortgage payments improved. The 92-basis-point drop in the delinquency rate in the fourth quarter was the biggest quarterly decline in the history of MBA’s survey dating back to 1979. Total mortgage delinquencies across the three loan types — conventional, FHA, and VA — and across the major stages of delinquency — 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day — declined from last year’s third quarter.”