Arizona Foreclosure Update – August 2013

In a recent study conducted by TransUnion (the credit-bureau company), Arizona had the best foreclosure clean-up numbers of any state in the nation. According to the report, the “proportion of homeowners with past-due home loans from April through June fell more sharply in Arizona than in any other state.”

Arizona’s mortgage-delinquency rate in the second quarter of 2012 was 6.14%. Which means that during this period, about 1 in every 15 mortgages was 60 days or more delinquent. During the same period in 2013, the rate dropped to 3.58% which is less than 1 in ever 28 mortgages being delinquent. And that’s more than a three-fold drop from the highest level measured during 2009 (11.33%).

Arizona’s mortgage delinquency rates are also decreasing faster than the nation and currently have fallen below the national average of 4.09% for the same period. Arizona’s been leading the nation with the largest decline in default loans for the past for quarters running.

TransUnion attributes the positive movement to improved house prices and low interest rates that have allowed homeowners to either refinance or sell their way out of mortgage payments they were having difficulty making. Whether or not this is accurate and will continue remains to be seen.

But Arizonan’s should certainly count their blessings in this area. Florida still has a delinquency rate of 9.87% and Nevada and New Jersey both have delinquency rates above 7.0%. The lowest rate in the nation is currently North Dakota which is currently trending at 1.15%.

If the current trends continue, then TransUnion predicts the national delinquency rate will fall below 4.0% during the third quarter of 2013. This would be its lowest level since 2008. And what that means for home prices is that they will likely continue to rise.

By: Evan A. Nielsen (Licensed in California)