Mortgage Deterioration Rate Exceeds 3:1

The November Mortgage Monitor report, released by Lender Processing Services, Inc., reveals a nationwide loan deterioration ratio higher than 3:1 - indicating that for every one loan improved, three more loans are deteriorating.

Of home loans that were current as of December 2008, more than two million, or 4.02 percent, were delinquent or in foreclosure by the end of October 2009. High rates of deterioration were particularly evident in the Northeast and Northwest. Thirty-one states now have non-current loan rates (delinquency plus foreclosure rates) ranging from 10 percent in Missouri to as high as 22.7 percent in Florida.

Foreclosure sales jumped in October, with the rate at 5.6 percent of foreclosures in inventory. The number of foreclosures on the market continues to stall as foreclosure timelines extend. Nearly 30 percent of properties that have been in foreclosure for 12 months have not yet been put on the market for sale - twice the level of the prior year. Foreclosure inventories continued to climb to record levels. October’s foreclosure rate stood at 3.14 percent, a month-over-month increase of 0.7 percent and a year-over-year increase of 85.1 percent.

Total delinquencies, already at record highs, edged up 0.85 percent in October over September’s figures and were 32 percent higher than the same period last year. Loans rolling to a more delinquent status remain elevated, but totals are below the Nov. 2008 peak. Roll rates into foreclosure remain low as a result of loss mitigation efforts and elevated delinquent loan volumes.

Other key results from LPS’ October Mortgage Monitor include:

Total U.S. loan delinquency rate: 9.4 percent

Total U.S. foreclosure inventory rate: 3.1 percent

Total U.S. non-current loan rate: 12.6 percent

States with most non-current loans: Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, Arizona, Georgia, California, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois

States with fewest non-current loans: North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Vermont, Colorado, Oregon and Washington

Non-current totals combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of active loans in that state. Totals based on LPS Applied Analytics’ loan-level database of mortgage assets.