Key takeaways from this month’s findings include:

• The national delinquency rate eased in January: Delinquencies fell by 3 basis points (bps) in January to 3.65% and remain 15 bps below the January 2020 pre-pandemic benchmark.
• Early-stage delinquencies drove the decrease: The number of borrowers 30 or 60 days late on their mortgage payments fell by 54,000 from December to January, driving the overall improvement in delinquency figures.
• Combined serious delinquency and foreclosure volumes increased: While earlier stage delinquencies improved, there are now more than 850,000 borrowers 90-plus days past due or in active foreclosure, up 104,000 from the same time last year, the largest such volume since July 2022.
• Foreclosure activity continued to rise: January saw 42,000 foreclosure starts, the highest monthly total since early 2020 and up 5% year over year, with foreclosure sales rose 28%.
• Prepayments pulled back: The single month mortality (SMM) rate, which tracks prepayments, dropped 19 bps to 0.72% from elevated levels over the past three months. An uptick in interest rates in December resulted in fewer January home sales and reduced refinance activity.