Black Knight's First Look: Foreclosure Starts Hit 18-year Low in August; Mortgage Prepayments Continue to Rise in Lower Interest Rate Environment

- August's 36,200 foreclosure starts made for the lowest single-month total since December 2000

- The number of loans in active foreclosure inventory also fell; at 253,000, it's the fewest since 2005

- Prepayment activity -- typically a good indicator of refinance activity -- continues to press upward, increasing 5% from July to reach a three-year high

- August's prepayment rate was up 62% from the same time last year and 2.5 times the 18-year low hit in January

- Given a 30-45 day closing window, the month's prepayment activity reflects June/July interest rates; as rates fell further in August and September, the peak in refinance-driven prepayments is likely still to come

News provided by

Black Knight, Inc.

Sep 23, 2019, 09:00 ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) reports the following "first look" at August 2019 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market.

Total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure): 3.45%
Month-over-month change: -0.15%
Year-over-year change: -1.49%

Total U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 0.48%
Month-over-month change: -2.42%
Year-over-year change: -11.46%

Total U.S. foreclosure starts: 36,200
Month-over-month change: -7.65%
Year-over-year change: -23.14%

Monthly prepayment rate (SMM): 1.50%
Month-over-month change: 5.45%
Year-over-year change: 61.77%

Foreclosure sales as % of 90+: 1.81%
Month-over-month change: 3.20%
Year-over-year change: -6.80%

Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 1,813,000
Month-over-month change: 6,000
Year-over-year change: 4,000

Number of properties that are 90 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 444,000
Month-over-month change: 0
Year-over-year change: -62,000

Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: 253,000
Month-over-month change: -5,000
Year-over-year change: -28,000

Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure: 2,066,000
Month-over-month change: 1,000
Year-over-year change: -23,000

*Top 5 States by Non-Current Percentage**
Mississippi:	10.31%
Louisiana:	7.71%
Alabama:	6.67%
West Virginia:	6.33%
Arkansas:	6.08%

*Bottom 5 States by Non-Current Percentage**
California:	2.02%
Idaho:	2.00%
Washington:	1.92%
Oregon:	1.85%
Colorado:	1.75%

Top 5 States by 90+ Days Delinquent Percentage
Mississippi:	3.12%
Alabama:	1.89%
Louisiana:	1.86%
Arkansas:	1.73%
Tennessee:	1.26%

*Top 5 States by 6-Month Improvement in Non-Current Percentage**
California:	-22.22%
District of Columbia:	-20.73%
Hawaii:	-18.51%
Oregon:	-17.05%
Washington:	-16.63%

*Top 5 States by 6-Month Deterioration in Non-Current Percentage**
Nebraska:	2.13%
Mississippi:	1.50%
Iowa:	0.29%
West Virginia:	-1.39%
Arkansas:	-1.82%

*Non-current totals combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of active loans in that state.

Notes:

1) Totals are extrapolated based on Black Knight's loan-level database of mortgage assets.
2) All whole numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand, except foreclosure starts, which are rounded to the nearest hundred.

For a more detailed view of this month's "first look" data, please visit the Black Knight newsroom.

The company will provide a more in-depth review of this data in its monthly Mortgage Monitor report, which includes an analysis of data supplemented by detailed charts and graphs that reflect trend and point-in-time observations. The Mortgage Monitor report will be available online at https://www.blackknightinc.com/data-reports/ by Oct. 7, 2019.

For more information about gaining access to Black Knight's loan-level database, please send an email to [email protected].

About Black Knight

Black Knight (NYSE:BKI) is a leading provider of integrated software, data and analytics solutions that facilitate and automate many of the business processes across the homeownership lifecycle.

As a leading fintech, Black Knight is committed to being a premier business partner that clients rely on to achieve their strategic goals, realize greater success and better serve their customers by delivering best-in-class software, services and insights with a relentless commitment to excellence, innovation, integrity and leadership. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.