Mortgage delinquencies dropping in the U.S.

Many individuals here in Florida have a fair amount of mortgage debt. When a person with high mortgage debt encounters an unexpected financial difficulty, it could put them at risk of coming off the rails when it comes to staying current with their mortgage payments. When a person falls behind on their mortgage payments, they could be facing many negative consequences, including the possibility of losing their home through a foreclosure.

Experienced foreclosure defense and debt relief lawyers can help individuals who are facing problems with staying on top of their mortgage payments understand what options they have for addressing their mortgage debt situation and what things they might be able to do to help hang on to their home. 

It appears that coming off the rails when it comes to mortgage payments may be becoming less common among individuals here in the United States.

Data from the National Delinquency Survey of the Mortgage Bankers Association regarding mortgage delinquencies in the first quarter of this year was recently released. The data indicates that both mortgage delinquencies and serious mortgage delinquencies dropped in the U.S. that quarter. When it comes to the survey data, a mortgage delinquency is defined as when a mortgage loan has at least one past due payment but is not in the foreclosure process and a serious mortgage delinquency is defined as when a mortgage loan is in the foreclosure process or at least 90 days past due.  

According to the data, in 2015’s first quarter, the seasonally-adjusted mortgage delinquency rate was 5.54 percent and the serious mortgage delinquency rate was 4.24 percent. Both of these rates were lower than the corresponding rates from the previous quarter and from 2014’s first quarter. The seasonally-adjusted mortgage delinquency rate for 2015’s first quarter was the lowest such rate the country has seen since 2007’s second quarter.

Why do you think the mortgage delinquency rate and the serious mortgage delinquency rate went down in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2015? What do you think this drop says about how homeowners with mortgages are currently doing? Do you think we will see more such drops as 2015 progresses? 

Source: Consumer Affairs, “Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures fall in first quarter,” James Limbach, May 7, 2015