As predicted, mortgage delinquencies resulting from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma continued to play out in October.  Black Knight Financial Services, in its "First Look" at the month's loan performance data, said the delinquency rate spiked in both Texas and Florida, skewing the national data. The US delinquency rate rose 4 basis points (bps) during the month, but removing those two states from the equation results in a 14-bps decline.

Delinquency rates in the two affected areas rose 24 percent (186 bps).  In those parts of Florida affected by Irma, the increase from September was 36 percent.  Black Knight says that the number of non-current loans, those that are 30 or more days past due, have risen 79 percent in Florida and 30 percent in Texas over the last six months. There are 66,000 delinquent mortgages that can be attributed to Hurricane Harvey and 163,000 to Hurricane Irma.

The national delinquency rate, which includes loans that are 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure, was 4.44 percent in October, up 0.94 percent from September and a 2.05 percent annual change. The number of non-current loans rose 17,000 month-over-month to 2,262,000, 60,000 more loans than in October 2016.

Included in that number were 589,000 loans that were seriously delinquent, that is 90 or more days past due but not in foreclosure. That total is up 13,000 from September but down 88,000 year-over-year.

The foreclosure inventory, homes that are in process of foreclosure, declined by 10,000 in October and by 156,000 over the previous 12 months. There were 348,000 properties in that inventory, 0.68 percent of all mortgaged properties, at the end of October, the first time the total has dropped below 350,000 since 2006.

Foreclosure rates rose by 11.06 percent during the month, with legal action initiated against 50,200 mortgaged properties. Starts were still down 11.15 percent year-over-year.

Prepayment activity, typically an indication of refinancing, rebounded in October. The rate rose 16.80 percent month-over-month to 1.12 percent of all mortgages, but was still 25.05 percent below last year's level.

Despite the hurricane related increases in delinquencies, the highest rate of non-current loans continues to be in Mississippi at 10.62 percent. Florida was second at 9.90 percent, followed by Louisiana (9.20 percent), and Alabama and Texas at 7.33 and 7.32 percent respectively.

The company will provide a more in-depth review of this data in its monthly Mortgage Monitor report. The Monitor will be published on December 4.