After falling for four straight quarters, delinquency rates on construction loans appear to have edged up slightly in the first quarter, according to preliminary estimates from Trepp LLC.
Though the final numbers won't be out until late May, Trepp says that based on its analysis of bank earnings and call reports, 18.3% of construction loans were delinquent on March 31, up from 18% three months earlier.
The news appears only slightly better for other loan categories. Trepp estimates that delinquency rates commercial mortgages fell from 5.4% to 5.3% in the thrifts quarter, while residential mortgage delinquencies fell from 12.8% to 12.7%.
"The slow rate of improvement [in residential mortgage delinquencies] reflects the still-high volume of foreclosures and weak price trends that still plague the market," Trepp said in a news release Thursday. "Recovery in the market is looking like it will take a protracted period of time, stretching well beyond 2011."
Commercial and industrial loans remain the best performing of all loans. According to Trepp, 2.9% of those loans were delinquent at March 31, down from 3.1% three months earlier.
