At the end of May, the combined number of mortgages 90+ days delinquent and foreclosures totaled 4.08 million, according to a report by Lender Processing Services (LPS).
Foreclosure sales, however, continued to decline and are considerably down from 2010 pre-foreclosure moratoria levels. They accounted for only 78,676 transactions by the month’s end as compared to 84,219 in April.
This brings the delinquent and foreclosure to foreclosure sales ratio to 50:1.
According to the LPS report, the East Coast states saw the biggest decrease of foreclosure sales in May, with DC, Maryland, New York and New Jersey experiencing drops of 96%, 90%, 79%, and 75% respectively.
At the same time, foreclosure inventories in judicial states have doubled the amount in non-judicial states as the average period of foreclosure continues to lengthen. LPS reported that more than 33% of those in foreclosures have not made a payment in over two years.
The report also mentioned that delinquencies are now double the historical average, and foreclosures are nearly eight times their normal.
LPS stated that its lingering concern is regarding the amount of negative equity, as 30% of current loans are in a negative equity position. Similarly, seriously delinquent loans were reportedly up to ten times more likely to default than loans with equity.
For a full report on the May mortgage data from LPS, please click here.
