June 05, 2019
Cities in our Service Area are Two of Three in the Nation with Rising Mortgage Delinquency Rates

Nationwide, the real estate situation—particularly where housing is concerned—has been on a positive course overall for the past few years. Despite the perhaps overheated market we saw in 2016-early 2018 (which of course was a positive situation itself for sellers), which has made it difficult for lower-income buyers and first-time homeowners to enter the market, and despite the recent resulting cool-down in the cost-increase to purchase a home, delinquency rates on paydown of mortgages have been dropping overall, in most places. In fact, 15 of the 20 largest metropolitan statistical areas saw year-over-year declines in mortgage delinquencies reaching into the double digits as of the fourth financial quarter of 2018, when the national rate was 1.66, as compared to 1.86 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017.
But this is not true absolutely everywhere. Indeed, there are three market areas where delinquencies have been on the rise. And two of those areas lie within a market that we here at Topouzis & Associates, P.C., service: the state of Florida. Miami and Tampa join Houston, Texas as the only metropolitan statistical areas determined by TransUnion in its Industry Insights Report to have seen an uptick in year-over-year delinquencies as of the fourth financial quarter of 2018.
But before you get too concerned, there’s an important caveat: the comparison point for this number is the fourth quarter of 2017, when these three metropolitan statistical areas were experiencing delinquency rates that had been lowered artificially by forbearance programs instituted in the wake of the hurricanes that both states had recently endured. Had these natural disasters not occurred, doubtless these areas, too, would be seeing rates that were perfectly in line with the national average. Overall, fewer people are falling into serious delinquency on their mortgages. And that’s something to be glad about.
If you’re shopping around for a home in Florida, Rhode Island or Massachusetts, contact us to see how we can help ensure proper transfer of title and provide title insurance. Topouzis & Associates, P.C., is backed by multiple underwriters, staffed by residential real estate specialists and ready to help you avoid costly delays and streamline your residential transactions.