In SoCal, “seriously delinquent” mortgages are on the rise

The number of “seriously delinquent” mortgages, including those 90 days past due or in foreclosure, is rising in Southern California.

In Los Angeles and Orange counties, about 3.4 percent of mortgages were seriously delinquent, jumping from 0.7 percent year-over-year, and 0.9 percent in May, according to CoreLogic data cited by the Los Angeles Daily News.

Delinquencies are up to 3.8 percent in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, from 1 percent a year ago and 1.3 percent in May.

Rates in all of those counties are their highest since mid-to-late 2013, when delinquencies were trending down from their peak in late 2008, according to the report. At that time, delinquencies jumped to 9.5 percent in L.A. and Orange counties, and 16.3 percent in the Inland Empire.

Nationwide, about 3.4 percent of all loans are 90 days past due or in foreclosure, a two percentage point year-over-year increase and the highest since February 2015, according to the Daily News.

Forbearance programs and foreclosure moratoriums in place since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic have largely held off a wave of foreclosures in the U.S., but it’s unclear what the future holds for struggling homeowners, particularly those who have lost their jobs.

In the meantime, historically low mortgage rates have made for a seller’s market, and prompted a 200 percent year-over-year jump in refinancings in the second quarter.

CoreLogic analysts project that delinquencies could “nearly double” throughout the U.S. by early 2022 without further assistance from the federal and local governments. [LADN] — Dennis Lynch