Equifax: R.I. 10th highest mortgage write-off rate

RHODE ISLAND had the 10th highest write-off rate in the nation at 4.5 basis points, Equifax said. / COURTESY EQUIFAX
RHODE ISLAND had the 10th highest write-off rate in the nation at 4.5 basis points, Equifax said. / COURTESY EQUIFAX

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has the 10th highest first-mortgage write-off rate in the nation at 4.5 basis points, Equifax Inc. said Wednesday.
Equifax, a consumer credit reporting agency, released the data in its June Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report.
The report, which analyzed data from more than 220 million consumers, found that the first mortgage write-off rate in the United States to be 3.3 basis points of outstanding balances. A basis point is 1/100th of a percentage point. For example, 10 basis points equals 0.1 percent.

It also found that the total number of first mortgage defaults in June was 17,909, the lowest since January 2007.
A write-off is defined by Equifax as a loan terminated in severe derogatory status. For mortgage loans, this most often means a loan terminated when a bank seizes the collateral property through a foreclosure process.
The overall U.S. first mortgage write-off rate returned to historic lows, but some areas remain elevated.
At 12.9 basis points, the write-off rate in Puerto Rico was three times higher than the national average and in Nevada, the rate was twice as high at 6.6 basis points. Rhode Island was the only New England state listed among the top 10 states or territories with the highest write-off rates.
“The backlog of foreclosures from the financial crisis finally appears to be waning and write-offs are returning to historically normal levels,” Amy Crews Cutts, senior vice president and chief economist at Equifax, said in a statement. “Rising home values have helped significantly, as have improving labor markets. Given the low inventory of homes for sale and the overall improving credit profile of the U.S. consumer, we expect home sales to maintain the upward trend we’ve seen in the first half of the year and for mortgage default performance to continue its downward path.”
The report also revealed that the severe delinquency rate (as a share of balances 90 days past due or in foreclosure) was 1.4 percent nationwide in June, falling from 2.07 percent in June 2015, and that the total number of first mortgages outstanding nationwide in June was 49.8 million, an increase of 0.7 percent from June 2015.

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