Despite a small month-over-month up tick in the rate of serious delinquency on first mortgages, loan performance on junior liens was much improved.
As of the final month of last year, the
Composite Consumer Credit Default Index, an indication of consumer 90-delinquency, was 0.89 percent.
The index — a reflection of
performance on automobile loans, bank cards and first and second mortgages — was up from 0.87 percent in November.
But an improvement has been recorded for consumer credit performance compared to a December 2015, when the index was 0.97 percent.
“National average consumer credit default rates continue at low levels in an improving economy,” David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, stated in the report.
The composite index was 1.53 percent in Miami, 9 basis points worse than in November and the highest among the five-largest metropolitan statistical areas.
Although Dallas’ rate was up a basis point from a month earlier, it was still the lowest among the five MSAs: 0.67 percent in December.
Ninety-day delinquency on U.S. first mortgages closed out 2016 at 0.71 percent. Serious mortgage delinquency inched up a basis point from the previous month.
But mortgage servicers have driven down first-mortgage 90-day delinquency from 0.84 percent at the end of 2015.
“Miami’s first mortgage default rate in December is considerably higher than the South’s first mortgage default rate and the national first mortgage default rate,” the report said. “It’s worth noting that the South’s first mortgage default rate is higher than the national default rate.”
Blitzer said national mortgage default patterns are stable. The favorable conditions though, are likely to be tested by rising mortgage rates — with rates up by 75 BPS since election day.
The story for second mortgages was a different one, with delinquency dropping to 0.41 percent as of Dec. 31, 2016, from 0.48 percent
a month earlier and 0.67 percent a year earlier.
