Foreclosures to persist!

According to authors at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the nation’s high foreclosure rate is likely to persist. The Fed article looks at the changes in foreclosure and unemployment rates across states, noting the differences in the timing of the movements. The conjecture that the high foreclosure rate will persist is based in part on the observation that states that experienced boom-bust housing cycles in the past (Texas, Oklahoma, Massachusetts and California) had elevated foreclosure starts for years after the peak in foreclosure starts and inventory. These previous boom-bust cycles “were small in comparison to the current cycle,” the article said. While the recession has left deep scars in the housing and labor markets — with the unemployment rate doubling and the foreclosure start rate roughly tripling — the timing of the movements differs over the cycle, according to the abstract, written by Timothy Dunne, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and Kyle Fee, a research assistant.Credit scores downAccording to FICO Inc., 25.5 percent of consumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders. With scores like that it's unlikely they'll be able to get credit cards, auto loans or mortgages under the tighter lending standards banks now use. FICO's latest analysis is based on consumer credit reports as of April. Its findings represent an increase of about 2.4 million people in the lowest credit score categories in the past two years. Before the Great Recession, scores on FICO's 300-to-850 scale weren't as volatile, said Andrew Jennings, chief research officer for FICO in Minneapolis. Historically, just 15 percent of the 170 million consumers with active credit accounts, or 25.5 million people, fell below 599, according to data posted on Myfico.com. On the positive side, the number of consumers who have a top score of 800 or above has increased in recent years. At least in part, this reflects that more individuals have cut spending and paid down debt in response to the recession. Their ranks now stand at 17.9 percent, which is notably above the historical average of 13 percent, though down from 18.7 percent in April 2008 before the market meltdown. There's also been a notable shift in the important range of people with moderate credit, those with scores between 650 and 699. The new data shows that this group comprised 11.9 percent of scores. This is down only marginally from 12 percent in 2008, but reflects a drop of roughly 5.3 million people from its historical average of 15 percent.Olick - NYT caught with its pants downThe other way we posted an article claiming the rich were the worst defaulters. Diana Olick says it ain't so: "The data show that while one in 12 mortgages under a million dollars are delinquent, "more than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent." Shall I wax on about how the rich care less about their credit ratings than the not-so-rich, or how many of these luxury homes are second homes that the owners don't really need, or how rich folks don't give a hoot about their communities and see these homes purely for their investment value? Nah, I'd rather do a little math. Here's my problem with the thesis of this article: A little less than 14 percent of the loans outstanding in the U.S. are "jumbo," meaning over $417,000, according to government statistics (FHFA). The number of loans that are over $1m are even less than that. So when we're talking about rates of default, you have to factor in the share of the market that you're looking at and the bottom line numbers. Yes, the rate is higher, but it's a far smaller share of borrowers, and that makes the numbers far more volatile. Just 1.7 percent of all home sales in May were of homes over one million dollars. That just gives you an idea of how small that marketplace is. Yes, we can always find the odd celebrity that squandered away all their millions and defaulted on the loan, but I would take a big step back before I come to the conclusion that the 'rich: are more likely to default on a loan than the "unrich.'"CMBS Delinquency Rate Exceeds 8%The US commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) delinquency rate ticked up 17 basis points to 8.14% in June, according to Fitch Ratings. It marked the smallest increase in 11 months, and the fifth straight month of loan resolutions in excess of $1bn. Fitch noted $1.5bn of loans leaving the index helped to offset the $2bn of new delinquencies, bringing the total net increase in delinquencies to $512m of loans. Newly delinquent loans in June bore smaller average balances of $10.1m than the index's overall $13.1m average. No loans with a balance in excess of $100m became newly delinquent in June. "While delinquencies slowed for the month, this trend is not expected to continue," said Managing Director Mary MacNeill. "The number of distressed properties continues to grow, and if borrowers are unable to access capital for leasing costs or are unable to restructure their loans to a leverage level commensurate with sustainable property values, they may stop subsidizing debt service payments." Loans continue to transfer to special servicing at an elevated rate, with a net increase of $4.2bn in performing specially serviced loans in June. In total, $23bn of loans in special servicing remain less than 60 days delinquent but face an increased risk of default. The multifamily delinquency rate rose to 13.82%, from 13.65% in May, while the office delinquency rate grew to 4.84% from 4.59%. The retail delinquency rate grew 16 basis points to 6.19% from 6.03% in May, while the industrial delinquency rate grew 41 basis points to 5.48%, from 5.07% in May. The rate of delinquency in hotel loans grew a single basis point to 18.62%.