Credit Bureau says Mortgage Delinquencies at Three-Year Low

TransUnion said on Tuesday that its National Mortgage Loan Delinquency Rate hit the lowest level in the first quarter of 2012 that it has seen since the first quarter of 2009. The rate of mortgage delinquencies of 60 days or more fell from 6.01 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 5.78 percent, a 3.83 percent decrease.  The rate had risen for the last two quarters after six straight quarters of decline. The rate is now 6.62 percent below where it was in the first quarter of 2011.

All but eight states experienced quarter-over-quarter decreases in their mortgage delinquency rates and 73 percent of metropolitan areas did as well.  During the prior two quarters only 36 percent of the MSAs saw any improvement in their delinquency rates.

Even though unemployment remains elevated and house prices face continued downward pressure TransUnion predicts mortgage delinquency rates will drift downward through the year as more homeowners are able to repay their mortgage debt obligations.  

"To see that quarter over quarter, and year over year, more homeowners were able to make their mortgage payments is certainly welcome news," said Tim Martin, group vice president of U.S. Housing in TransUnion's financial services business unit. "Before this, we saw two quarters of delinquency increases and while we are still about three-times above the pre-recession norm, this should mark the start of consistent improvement each quarter."