Home Foreclosure Rates at 20-Year Low
High home values have pushed home foreclosure rates across the country to their lowest level in 20 years. The percentage of homes in foreclosure in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is even lower.
Only 0.4% of U.S. homes were in foreclosure in July, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.
And in North Texas, the foreclosure rate was half that at just 0.2%.
"Homeowners have seen a big rise in home equity, which lowers foreclosure risk because owners have more 'skin in the game,' " Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic, said in the report. "Our latest home equity report found that between the first quarter of 2011 and the second quarter of 2019, average equity per borrower increased from $75,000 to $176,000 and rose $5,000 in the past year alone."
With higher home values, fewer homeowners with loans are underwater in their properties, making foreclosure less likely. Home foreclosures have steadily declined in the D-FW area during the last few years. During the worst of the recession in 2010, about 1.5% of all North Texas home loans were in foreclosure.
Nationwide about 3.8% of homeowners with loans were behind in their payments in July — also a two-decade low.
In the D-FW area, 3.7% of home mortgage holders were one our more payments late. Austin had the lowest mortgage delinquency rate in Texas — only 2.3%.
"The fundamentals of the housing market remain very solid, with foreclosure rates hitting lows not seen in over 20 years," said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "We expect foreclosure rates may very well drift even lower in the months ahead as wage growth and lower mortgage rates provide support for homeownership..."
