“Mortgage delinquencies increased across all three major loan types – Conventional, FHA, and VA – in the last three months of the year,” Marina Walsh, MBA’s vice president of industry analysis, said in a statement. “The most pronounced uptick was with FHA loans, which reached a delinquency rate of 11.52%, the highest level since the second quarter of 2021.
“While earlier-stage FHA delinquencies remained relatively flat compared to the previous quarter, later-stage, 90+ day delinquencies increased by 76 basis points. The FHA foreclosure inventory rate also grew to the highest level since the first quarter of 2020.”
Walsh attributed some of the rise to the expiration of pandemic-era FHA relief programs and labor market disparities, a key factor in mortgage delinquency levels. She noted that serious delinquencies — loans at least 90 days past due or in foreclosure — vary by year of origination.
“For FHA loans, the vintage years 2020 and 2021 are performing better than 2022 and 2023, when mortgage rates rose and affordability was especially stretched,” Walsh said. “With FHA volume increasing, mortgage rates moderating, and borrower credit characteristics improving on newer FHA originations, the performance of recent cohorts may temper stress on overall FHA portfolios.”
MBA’s survey showed that by stage, 30-day delinquencies fell slightly to 2.07%, while 60-day and 90-day delinquencies rose to 0.92% and 1.27%, respectively.
The percentage of loans in foreclosure increased modestly to 0.53%, up 3 bps from the previous quarter and 8 bps from a year ago.
The non-seasonally adjusted seriously delinquent rate rose to 1.85%, up 24 bps from the previous quarter and 17 bps from a year ago. FHA loans drove the increase, with serious delinquencies up 106 bps.
The states with the largest quarterly delinquency increases were Mississippi (109 bps), Louisiana (89), Maryland (87), Oklahoma (86), and Indiana (86).
