Delinquencies Improved Seasonally In March But Continue To Trend Modestly Higher
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a global provider of technology and data, released its March 2025 First Look, which reveals that while delinquency rates edged up slightly year over year (YoY), they remain below pre-pandemic levels.
The ICE First Look reports on month-end delinquency, foreclosure and prepayment statistics sourced from its loan-level database, which covers a majority of the U.S. mortgage market.
Key takeaways from this month’s findings include:
* The national delinquency rate decreased seasonally by -32 basis points (bps) to 3.21%, up 1 bps from the same time last year and only 29 bps above the 2.92% record low set in March 2023.
* While serious delinquencies (SDQs) also improved seasonally, they are up 14% (+60K) YoY, with the rise driven entirely by FHA delinquencies, which increased by +63K YoY.
* Higher SDQs, along with the lifting of a VA foreclosure moratorium, fueled a modest bump in foreclosure inventory and sales, which both rose annually for the first time in nearly two years.
* Disaster events, such as hurricanes and wildfires, have led to YoY delinquency increases across several states, including Florida (+44 bps), South Carolina (+17 bps), Georgia (+14 bps) and California (+10 bps).
* Monthly prepayment activity, measured by single-month mortality, jumped to 0.59% – a +30.4% increase over February and the highest level of prepayment activity since November.
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