DSNews: Author: Brian Honea January 23, 2015
Just as it did in November, Mississippi led all states with the highest percentage of non-current mortgages and serious delinquent mortgages in December, according to data released recently as part of Black Knight Financial Services‘ December 2014 “First Look” at mortgage data released Friday.
Mississippi’s percentage of non-current mortgages, which are those 30 days or more overdue or in foreclosure, was 14.18 percent – a decline from the 14.88 percent the state reported for November. The national mortgage delinquency rate declined by 7 percent down to 5.6 percent in December after experiencing its biggest increase in six years a month earlier.
The non-current mortgage percentage dropped by 8.3 percent year-over-year in the Magnolia State in December. Mississippi’s non-current rate of 14.18 percent in December which still way below the state’s peak of 22.85 percent, attained in October 2005. Just seven months earlier, in March 2005, Mississippi’s non-current mortgage rate fell to its low of 9.60 percent.
New Jersey retained the second-highest non-current mortgage rate in December, 11.9 percent, despite experiencing a decline from 12.41 percent the previous month and an 18 percent drop year-over-year. Louisiana was third in December, as it had been in November, with 11.06 percent. New York and Rhode Island retained their fourth and fifth spots in December which they held in November with delinquency rates of 10.39 and 10.16 percent, respectively. The delinquency rate declined both month-over-month and year-over-year in each of the top five states.
North Dakota was once again the state with the lowest mortgage delinquency rate for December, at 2.38 percent. The second through fifth lowest delinquency rates in December, respectively, were in South Dakota (3.54 percent), Alaska (3.56 percent), Colorado (3.58 percent), and Montana (3.83 percent).
Mississippi also had the nation’s highest serious delinquency rate (90 days or more overdue or in foreclosure) for December with 5.30 percent of mortgages in the state in serious delinquency, a slight decline from the 5.39 percent the state reported for November. Mississippi’s serious delinquency rate declined by 2.04 percent year-over-year in December. The state’s December serious delinquency rate was still well below its peak of 9.9 percent, reported in in December 2005. Mississippi’s low for serious delinquency rate was 2.74 percent, achieved in March 2005.
