CoreLogic Reports Mortgage Performance Continues Steady Improvement in April 2017

July 11, 2017, Irvine, Calif. – CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report which shows that, nationally, 4.8 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due including those in foreclosure) in April 2017. This represents a 0.5 percentage point decline in the overall delinquency rate compared with April 2016 when it was 5.3 percent.

As of April 2017, the foreclosure inventory rate, which measures the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process, was 0.7 percent compared with 1 percent in April 2016. The serious delinquency rate, defined as 90 days or more past due including loans in foreclosure, was 2 percent, down from 2.6 percent in April 2016.

Measuring early-stage delinquency rates is important for analyzing the health of the mortgage market. To comprehensively monitor mortgage performance, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency as well as transition rates, which indicate the percentage of mortgages moving from one stage of delinquency to the next.

Early-stage delinquencies, defined as 30-59 days past due, increased to 2.2 percent in April 2017 from 2 percent in April 2016. The share of mortgages that were 60-89 days past due in April 2017 was 0.63 percent, down slightly from 0.64 percent in April 2016.

"Most major indicators of mortgage performance improved in April, showing that the market continues to benefit from improved economic growth and home price increases," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "Regionally, with the exception of several energy industry intensive states – Alaska and North Dakota – the rest of the U.S. continues to see improvements in mortgage performance. While overall performance is improving, it reflects the older legacy pipeline of loans that continue to heal, especially in judicial states which typically take longer to clear out."

Since early-stage delinquencies can be volatile, CoreLogic also analyzes transition rates. The share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30-days past due was 1.2 percent in April 2017 compared with 1 percent in April 2016, a 0.2 percentage point increase year over year. By comparison, in January 2007, just before the start of the financial crisis, the current-to-30-day transition rate was 1.2 percent and it peaked in November 2008 at 2 percent.

"Delinquency rates are down virtually across the board as the rebound in the U.S. housing market continues to gather steam. It appears likely that delinquency rates will continue to fall for some time, but at a moderating pace," said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "As we look forward, improved fundamentals provide us with a firm foundation and we must now increase our attention to carefully expand the supply of affordable housing stock and ensure that mortgage lending policies help to prudently promote first-time homeownership."

For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic®.

Methodology

The data in this report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through April 2017.

The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not typically subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. Approximately one-third of homes nationally are owned outright and do not have a mortgage. CoreLogic has approximately 85 percent coverage of U.S. foreclosure data.

About CoreLogic

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company’s combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.