Huge Plunge In Mortgage Cure Rates Portends Foreclosure Disaster

Mortgage cure rates have fallen off a cliff. For those unfamiliar with the term, a "cure rate" pertains to those who go delinquent on loans then catch up and become current. Late payments that don’t "cure" have a tendency to get later and later over time, before they eventually default.

Fitch ratings notes Cure Rates Plunge Among Prime RMBS.

According to Fitch, cure rate on prime mortgages plunged to 6.6% from an average 45% during 2000-2006. Alt-A cure rates plunged to 4.3% from an average 30.2% and subprime cure rates fell to 5.% from an average 19.4%.

A couple of charts can help put this in context. Here is a chart from Hidden Backlog of Foreclosures.

Pent Up Foreclosures By State

click on chart for sharper image

In regards to the above chart I said.

The area in pink represents potential foreclosure demand. Not all of that area will be foreclosed, but some of it sure will. The "Hidden Backlog" mentioned above (and highlighted in red) is within that pink area.

One thing missing from the chart is pent-up demand from those who are not delinquent yet have a huge incentive to walk because of massive negative equity.

For a look at "negative equity", moratoriums, and other foreclosure issues please see Brace for a Wave of Foreclosures, the Dam is About to Break.

With the new data from Fitch let’s take a second look using another chart from Calculated Risk’s post MBA Forecasts Foreclosures to Peak at End of 2010.

Prime Delinquencies and Foreclosures

click on chart for sharper image

In 2006 less than 3% of prime loans were delinquent and nearly half of them cured. Currently close to 6.5% of prime mortgages are delinquent (another 3% are in foreclosure). Worse yet, the cure rate is miserable. Even reworked loans quickly sink back into delinquency.

A key reason for the falling cure rates pertains to underwater mortgages. In 2006, someone might easily have had positive equity in their home and sold it (curing the loan). Most in trouble now do not have positive equity and cannot sell.

Of the 6.5% delinquent, the current cure rate is a mere 6.6%. On this basis, prime foreclosures could spike to 9%. If that sounds preposterous, note that prime delinquencies were close to 3% in 2007 and by second quarter 2009 the foreclosure rate hit that same 3% rate. Foreclosures follow delinquencies over time and a sinking cure rate makes that prognosis even more likely.

What happens now depends on jobs and home prices, neither of which looks very promising. Even 5-6% prime foreclosures would be a disaster and that looks increasingly likely.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock