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76 NATIONAL SNAPSHOT Regional MISSISSIPPI LEADS IN 30-DAY-PLUS DELINQUENCIES The Magnolia State topped the list for early-stage delinquencies. Here's how trends are shaping up nationwide. By Molly Boesel In July 2019, 3.8% of home mortgages were in some stage of delin- quency, down from 4.1% a year earlier and the lowest for the month of July in more than 20 years, according to the CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report. e measure, also known as the overall delinquency rate, includes all home loans 30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure. For the month of July historically, the share of delinquent mortgages peaked in 2010 at 11.1%. Since March 2018, the overall delinquency rate each month has been lower than during the pre-crisis period of 2000 through 2006, when the rate averaged 4.7%. e serious delinquency rate—defined as 90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure—was 1.3% in July 2019, down from 1.6% in July 2018. e serious delinquency rate for this July was below the average of 1.5% for the 2000-2006 pre-crisis period and far below the peak of 7.5% in February 2010. e foreclosure inventory rate—the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process— was 0.4% in July 2019, down from 0.5% a year earlier. July's foreclosure rate was the lowest for that month in at least 20 years and was below the aver- age pre-crisis level of 0.6%. Rising home prices have led to record amounts of home equity, reducing the risk of foreclosure. e share of mortgages that were 30-59 days past due—considered early-stage delinquencies—was 1.8% in July 2019, down from 1.9% in July 2018. e share of mortgages 60 to 89 days past due was 0.6% in July 2019, unchanged from July 2018. In addition to delinquency rates, CoreLogic tracks the rate at which mortgages transition from one stage of delinquency to the next, such as going from current to 30-days past due. Figure 1 shows that in July 2019 the current to 30-day transition rate remained well below levels during the housing crisis. e July current to 30-day rate was 0.8%, unchanged from a year earlier. e 30- to 60-day transition rate was 13.8% in July, down from 15.1% in July 2018, and the 60- to 90-day transition rate was 24% in July, down from 25.3% a year earlier. Figure 2 shows the states with the highest and lowest share of mortgages 30 days or more delinquent. In July 2019, that rate was highest in Mississippi at 7.3% and lowest in Colorado at 1.7%. Four states logged an annual gain in their overall delinquency rate in July 2019. Vermont saw an increase of 0.5 percentage points, New Hampshire an increase of 0.2 percentage points, and Minnesota and Iowa both posted an increase of 0.1 percentage points. Nebraska and Wisconsin had no change in the overall delinquency rate from a year earlier. Figure 3 shows the 30-plus-day past-due rate for July 2019 for 10 large metropolitan areas. e New York metro had the highest rate at 5.1%. Miami, with the second-highest rate at 5%, saw a sharp decrease in the overall delinquency rate, falling from 6.5% in July 2018. Houston also saw a large year-over-year decrease, from 5.8% in July 2018 to 4.7% in July 2019. San Francisco had the lowest 30-plus-day delinquency rate in July 2019 at 1.3%. STATS AT A GLANCE The nation's overall delinquency rate was 3.8%. The foreclosure inventory rate was 0.4%, where it has stood since November 2018.

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