Delinquencies, Foreclosure Inventories Continue to Rise

RISMEDIA, June 2, 2009-Lender Processing Services, Inc., a leading provider of integrated technology and services to the mortgage industry, announced its release of the May 2009 LPS Mortgage Monitor, an in-depth report of mortgage industry performance indicators based on data collected as of April 30, 2009.

LPS reported that total mortgage delinquencies in April rose slightly to 8.1%, with a year-over-year increase of 43%. The nation’s foreclosure rate for April was 2.7%, representing a year-over-year increase of 90.5%. LPS found positive news in foreclosure starts, which declined in April from March’s spike, although April’s foreclosure start rates remains higher than all other prior months.

In an interesting vintage delinquency analysis, the report shows that recent vintage loans are showing a clear and steady trend of improvement through reduced delinquency rates, and that 2009 vintage loans have a lower default rate than 2004-2008 vintage loans. In addition, the May report indicates a steady increase in the number of loan modifications involving reductions in interest rates or unpaid principal balances (UPBs). The analysis of loans six months post-modification reveals that UPB reductions lower the re-default rate by 25%.

This month’s Mortgage Monitor also analyzes delinquency and foreclosure rates by state and reports that although the national average of loans in some stage of delinquency or foreclosure is 10.8%; in Florida, almost one in five homes falls into this category, the highest in the nation in April.

LPS’ monthly Mortgage Monitor Report is based on data from the company’s market-leading repository of loan-level residential mortgage data and performance information, including more than 40 million active loans across the credit spectrum. LPS carefully analyzes this data to produce more than 20 charts and graphs reflecting both trend and point-in-time performance observations.

To review the full report, listen to a presentation of the report, or access an executive summary, visit http://www.lpsvcs.com/NEWSROOM/INDUSTRYDATA/Pages/default.aspx.