Foreclosures: Are They Increasing or Decreasing?

There seems to be much confusion about the number of distressed properties which are currently entering the housing market. This inventory has a tremendous impact on pricing in any particular region. For this reason, we want to bring a little clarity to the situation. Mortgage delinquencies are decreasing and foreclosures are increasing. Still confused? Let us explain.

Delinquencies are decreasing

The great news at this time is that the number of people 90+ days behind on their mortgage payment is falling. As the employment picture slowly brightens and families adjust to their current financial situation, more people are paying their mortgage on time. This has created headlines touting that the foreclosure situation is easing. Those headlines are correct. However…

Foreclosures are again flowing to the market

We must still clear the large inventories of foreclosed properties that exist. We had a small reprieve over the last few months as many distressed properties were caught in a logjam created as banks corrected faulty paperwork. That bottleneck is beginning to clear. This month’s LPS Mortgage Monitor shows exactly this situation in this graph:

As further evidence, Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance just released their HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI). The Index indicated that:

… nearly half of the housing market is now distressed properties. This trend is likely to continue as a backlog of foreclosures and mortgage defaults make their way through the housing pipeline.

What does this mean?

We will keep hearing what seems to be conflicting reports on the foreclosure situation. Remember that delinquencies and foreclosures are two different measures and can go in different directions. Here is an additional slide from the Mortgage Monitor to help you distinguish the differencies.

Bottom Line

More people are paying their mortgage. Once we clear through the existing distressed property inventory, the market will finally gain momentum.