Foreclosures

The month ended with 54,000 less properties for which the borrower was at least 30 days or more late on their payments, Black Knight said.

Still near historic low levels, the share of borrowers entering the early stages of delinquency in June increased 0.1 percentage point.

Completions in August remained far lower than before COVID-19 arrived in the United States but initial actions rose fast enough to potentially meet expectations that they'll normalize in 2023.

At the same time, the share of overall vacancies fell due to limited inventory, according to a new Attom report.

Inflation and higher interest rates are hurting distressed borrowers, but low unemployment, remaining forbearance and loss mitigation options are still blunting their impacts, recent loan-performance numbers suggest.

The government-sponsored enterprises divested themselves of the largest share of these loans since they first began selling them in 2014, a Federal Housing Finance Agency report found.

But a slower-than-anticipated rate of repossessions suggest distressed homeowners are finding solutions.

Strong general unemployment gains, student loan deferrals and borrowers enjoying low interest rates secured in the refinance boom contributed to the positive gains.

While smaller in number, initiated foreclosures had a similar consecutive-quarter gain as the market transitioned away from pandemic-related relief that has artificially constrained workout activity.

Meanwhile, 707,104 mortgages remain in forbearance, accounting for a combined $136 billion in unpaid balances.