Defaults on first mortgages edged up in November, making it the second consecutive month of growth in the default rate since the post-recession low recorded in September, according to the latest S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.
The default rate on first mortgages in the U.S. fell to a post-recession low of 1.36% in September, before bouncing up to 1.47% in October and 1.58% in November.
The November rate is 22 basis points higher than the post-recession low reached three months ago.
“The first mortgage was the only product line that increased in November,” the S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian concluded in its report. “While the increase in the first mortgage default rate is quite small, it bears watching since it repeats across four of the five cities we track. The other sectors all posted small declines from October to November: auto loans down 5 basis points, bank cards down 10 basis points to a new post-recession low of 3.58% and second mortgages down 3 basis points.”
