The ratio of borrowers 60 days or more past due on their mortgage fell for the second straight quarter, according to credit bureau TransUnion.
The national delinquency rate fell to 6.67 percent in the second quarter, down marginally from 6.77 percent a quarter earlier, but still 14.8 percent higher than the 5.81 percent rate seen a year earlier.
Nevada continued to lead the nation in late mortgage payments with a delinquency rate of 15.86 percent, followed by Florida at 15.02 percent.
The Dakotas held onto the lowest mortgage delinquency rates, with just 1.51 percent of homeowners in North Dakota behind and 2.23 percent in the South struggling to keep up.
“TransUnion believes that the 60-day mortgage delinquency rate will likely continue to drift downward in 2010, possibly nearing 6.4 percent nationally by the end of the year,” said FJ Guarrera, vice president in TransUnion’s financial services business unit, in a press release.
“Note that this forecast is based on various economic assumptions, including the assumption that both real estate values and the unemployment picture will improve gradually. This forecast would certainly change if there are unanticipated shocks to the economy affecting the recovery in the housing market,” said Guarrera.
There’s also the big question as to the long-term success of loan modifications, which some believe will re-default at a rate as high as 75 percent.
Nationally, the ratio of borrowers 90 or 120 days or more past due fell from where it was last quarter, the first time that has happened since the recession began in 2007.
Again, only time will tell if this is just a blip thanks to all the anti-foreclosure efforts, or a long-term trend.
TransUnion also noted that mortgage originations plummeted nearly 50 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, with the largest drops in Idaho (-58.7%) and Washington (58.6%).