CHICAGO — Mortgage delinquency rates declined by nearly 20% to a national rate of 3.46% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to a report from TransUnion LLC.
That number is a decline from 4.32% in the second quarter of 2013, and is the 10th-straight quarterly drop, according to TransUnion, a credit information and management firm here.
Additionally, delinquency rates dropped across all age groups, with homeowners under 30 showing the lowest rates (2.34%) and steepest decline during the last year (down 28.6%).
The so-called sand states such as Arizona, California and Nevada, saw the largest year-over-year declines — about a 32% decrease in each state — while West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Vermont saw the smallest declines, averaging 6.8%.
Although steadily falling delinquency rates are good news, new account originations have also dropped by 51% to 1.1 million in the first quarter this year, from 2.2 million a year earlier, while non-prime originations rose to 7.8%, from 5%, according to TransUnion.
Sluggish new account generations were likely related to a decline in refinancing activity because of higher interest rates and the harsh winter suffered across most of the country, according to TransUnion.
