Serious delinquency on first mortgages deteriorated last month, and the recent spate of natural disasters could make things worse. The Big Apple experienced a surge in consumer delinquency.
A measure of consumer credit delinquency, the Composite Consumer Credit Default Index, indicated that 90-day delinquency was 0.86 percent in August.
The index — which reflects performance on automobile loans, bank cards and first and second mortgages — worsened from the preceding month, when the rate was 0.83 percent.
Consumer delinquency was also up from the same month last year, when the rate was 0.85 percent.
The index was reported Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian.
In New York, 90-day delinquency on consumer credit was 0.95 percent last month, soaring from July by 13 basis points — the biggest increase of five of the biggest metropolitan statistical areas tracked in the report.
August’s rate was 1.13 percent in Miami, tumbling from the prior month by 10 BPS — down more than any of the five MSAs. Still, Miami’s rate remains the highest of the cities tracked.
Ninety-day delinquency on U.S. first mortgages was 0.65 percent as of the most-recent date, worsening by 3 BPS from July. But serious first-mortgage delinquency improved by 3 BPS from August 2016.
No change from the previous month left serious delinquency on second mortgages at 0.50 percent as of August 2017. The rate declined 2 BPS from the same month a year ago.
“Hurricane damage in Houston and across Florida is creating substantial financial stress,” David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in the report. “The impact on mortgages on damaged or destroyed homes is not yet clear. Job losses and rising spending needs could lead to increased consumer credit defaults in coming months.”
