Few U.S. Homeowners Behind On Their Mortgage In 1Q 2016

Foreclosure activity has declined, suggesting that homeowners are not only current on their mortgages, but fewer are significantly behind.

WASHINGTON – July 8, 2016 – Performance of first-lien mortgages improved during the first quarter of 2016 compared with a year earlier, according to the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) quarterly report on mortgages.

The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, First Quarter 2016 found that 94.9 percent of mortgages in the report were current and performing at the end of the quarter – a higher percentage year-to-year. In 2015, it was 94.2 percent.

The report also found that foreclosure activity has declined, suggesting that homeowners are not only current on their mortgages, but fewer are significantly behind. Mortgage servicers initiated 58,921 new foreclosures during the first quarter of 2016 – a 29.1 percent year-to-year decrease.

Since first-lien mortgage performance improved, the need for other loss mitigation actions declined. Servicers implemented 34,481 mortgage modifications in the first quarter of 2016. Of those, 87 percent reduced borrowers' monthly payments.

The first-lien mortgages included in the OCC's quarterly report comprise 38 percent of all residential mortgages outstanding in the United States or about 21.1 million loans. The complete report can be viewed online.

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