Residential loan delinquency and foreclosure rates continued to improve last month. But pre-crisis mortgage performance levels have yet to return.
The rate of serious delinquency — home loans that are at least 90 days past due — finished April at 4.5 percent.
Serious delinquency was lower than 4.7 percent the previous month and 5.8 percent in the same month during 2013.
In fact, delinquency now stands at its lowest level since September 2008, according to CoreLogic Inc., which reported the numbers Thursday.
However, statistics reported earlier this month by the Mortgage Bankers Association indicate that 90-day delinquency, including foreclosures, was 5.06 percent as of the first quarter — well above the 2.15 percent rate in place as of the end of 2006.
In Florida, CoreLogic said serious delinquency was 9.9 percent, higher than any other state during April but a 40-basis-point improvement over the prior month. Next was New Jersey’s 9.6 percent, New York’s 7.6 percent and 6.5 percent in both Maryland and Nevada.
North Dakota had the lowest rate of any state: 1.1 percent.
As of the most recent month, around 694,000 U.S. mortgages were in some stage of foreclosure, an improvement from 728,000 the previous month. In April 2013, the inventory was nearly 1,100,000.
The 1.8 percent foreclosure rate sits at its lowest level since November 2008. While there was no change from the rate previously reported for March, it was significantly improved from 2.7 percent in April 2013.
New Jersey’s 6.0 percent foreclosure rate was the worst in the nation. Florida followed with a 5.4 percent rate, then New York’s 4.6 percent, Hawaii’s 3.1 percent and Maine’s 3.0 percent.
Alaska and Wyoming shared the lowest rate: 0.4 percent.
Mortgage servicers completed 46,000 foreclosures, a thousand fewer than in March.
In April 2013, repossessions numbered 56,000.
From Jan. 1 through April 30, mortgage servicers completed 184,000 foreclosures.
The 599,000 U.S. foreclosures completed during the 12 months ended April 30 were the fewest since 2007. But despite the improvement, CoreLogic noted that the pace is well ahead of the 252,000 annual average between 2000 and 2006.
