TransUnion sees double-digit declines in mortgage delinquency rate through 2011

Double-digit declines in the mortgage delinquency rate for all 50 states will occur through next year, according to a leading credit information agency. TransUnion expects the national mortgage delinquency rate to fall by about one-fifth to 4.98% by the end of 2011. The company projects the rate at 6.21% at the end of 2010, representing a nearly 10% decrease from the prior year. The national delinquency rate fell 3.5% from the second quarter to third quarter, which was the largest quarterly drop in four years, TransUnion said in late November. The number of delinquent mortgages peaked in July 2009. Slowly improving employment figures and continued stabilization in housing prices will fuel the declining delinquency rates, according to Steve Chaouki, group vice president in TransUnion’s financial services unit. “While there is continued price pressure in many markets, we expect a growing number of areas of the country to experience a rise in property values along with some stabilization of values in those states and markets hardest hit by the recession,” he said. TransUnion said the national delinquency rate rose more 50% between 2008 and 2009, which was on top of a 53% gain the previous year and a 54% increase in 2006. The company expects Arizona, Florida and Nevada to see the largest declines in mortgage delinquencies next year, but those three states will also have the highest rate of loans 60-days past due, as well. Write to Jason Philyaw.