A monthly decline in the rate of foreclosures was more than enough to offset a seasonal increase in early stage delinquency.
Home loans that were at least 30 days delinquent or in the process of foreclosure accounted for 7.64 percent of all residential loans in April.
Mortgage performance improved — albeit ever so slightly — from a month earlier, when the 30-day late payment rate landed at 7.65 percent.
The improvement was far more significant compared to a year earlier, when the non-current rate was 9.38 percent.
The loan performance data was reported by Black Knight Financial Services.
Delinquent loans numbered 3,837,000 last month.
In Mississippi, the non-current rate was 13.81 percent in April, up 42 basis points from the previous month and the worst rate of any state.
Next was New Jersey’s 12.87 percent rate, followed by Florida’s 11.69 percent, New York’s 11.01 percent and Louisiana’s 10.75 percent.
The lowest non-current rate last month was in North Dakot:a 2.57 percent.
Reflected in April’s U.S. non-current rate was a 5.62 percent 30-day rate excluding foreclosures, worsening from 5.52 percent in the previous month.
Black Knight noted that the increase was seasonal.
But the 30-day rate was better than 6.21 percent in the same month during the previous year.
Also included in last month’s total rate was a 2.02 percent pre-sale foreclosure inventory rate, improving from 2.13 percent in March and 3.17 percent in April 2013.
The foreclosure rate hasn’t been this low since September 2008.
