Coronavirus causes largest ever monthly spike in US mortgage delinquencies

About 3.6 million homeowners were past due on mortgage payments as of end of April

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Millions of Americans missed their mortgage payments last month, new data shows, as the U.S. delinquency rate nearly doubled.

About 3.6 million homeowners were past due on mortgage payments as of the end of April, according to new data from Black Knight, which is the highest amount since January 2015. The national delinquency rate reached 6.45 percent, up almost double (3.06 percent) from March – and the largest monthly increase ever recorded.

The delinquency rate, which included people with forbearance agreements in place, was up more than 85 percent compared with the same period last year.

CORONAVIRUS CAUSES MORTGAGE CONCERNS, BUT MANY AMERICANS DID NOT NEED TO PAUSE PAYMENTS

The number of payments considered seriously delinquent, meaning at least 90 days late, rose 14 percent month over month.

States that saw the highest jump in delinquencies included New York, New Jersey and Nevada.

AS CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS EASE, FEWER AMERICANS ARE PAUSING MORTGAGE PAYMENTS

Considering about 4.1 million Americans have entered into forbearance agreements, which allow them to put a temporary pause on payments, the massive increase in April is not so surprising.

Recent forbearance data, however, indicates some positive trends in the housing market.

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For example, the rate at which homeowners are requesting forbearance has slowed.

Mortgage purchase application activity has also begun to pick up – an early indicator that the housing market may be primed to bounce back once state economies reopen and begin to normalize.

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