By Dees Stribling | Multi-Housing News
Fannie Mae reported on Friday that the single-family serious delinquency rate for the mortgages that it owns and insures dropped in May to 2.83 percent from 2.93 percent in April, down to the lowest level since January 2009, when delinquencies were on the way up. The decline from May 2012 has been even steeper, coming down from 3.57 percent a year ago.
Freddie Mac likewise reported monthly and annual drops in its single-family delinquency rate—from 2.91 percent in April to 2.85 percent in May, which is its lowest level since May 2009. In May 2012, the rate was 3.5 percent.
Both GSEs calculate their delinquency rates by including mortgages whose payments are more than 30 days late, but not actually in foreclosure yet. A normal rate—a pre-Great Recession rate, that is—is roughly 1 percent, so even now the rates are high by historical standards.
