Mortgage delinquencies rise in march, first time since 2000

March is typically a very strong month performance-wise, but not this year due to Covid-19.

Blank Knight reports "March Sees First Ever Mortgage Delinquency Increase in Early Sign of COVID-19 Impact "

Key Points 

• In what’s typically the strongest month of the year for mortgage performance, delinquencies rose by 3.33%, the first March increase since the turn of the century, an early sign of COVID-19’s impact on the market
• Both the national foreclosure and 90-day delinquency rates set new record lows in March, a lingering reminder of the strength of the mortgage market heading into the pandemic
• At just 27,600 for the month, foreclosure starts also fell to their lowest level on record, as COVID-19-related moratoriums began to impact foreclosure inflows
• Prepayment activity jumped by nearly 40% in March, driven by record-low 30-year mortgage rates
• Note: For the purposes of this report going forward, the millions of homeowners who have since entered into forbearance will be counted as past due, but should not be reported as such to the credit bureaus by their servicers

Black Knight Mortgage Stats 

Year-over-year trends on delinquencies and foreclosures has been impressive. 

That will end in April or May.