New York, Miami Leading America in Mortgage Delinquencies

(Bloomberg) -- Miami and New York, reeling from the economic fallout of Covid 19, lead the U.S. in mortgage delinquencies.

Almost 14% of mortgage borrowers in Miami were at least 30 days behind on payments in May, the highest among the 10 largest metropolitan areas analyzed by data provider CoreLogic Inc.. It was followed by New York at 12%, Las Vegas at 10.5% and Houston at 10%.

Big cities have been hit hardest by the shutdowns that went into effect in March to limit the spread of the virus. That hit restaurants, bars and hotel workers especially hard, with tourism in areas like South Florida and Manhattan vanishing overnight.

“The national unemployment rate soared from a 50-year low in February 2020, to an 80-year high in April,” Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic, said in Tuesday’s report. “With the sudden loss of income, many homeowners are struggling to stay on top of their mortgage loans, resulting in a jump in non-payment.”

Nationally, 7.3% of mortgage borrowers were in some stage of delinquency, including those in the federal forbearance program, which allows homeowners facing hardships during the pandemic to delay payments for as much as 12 months. A year ago, the delinquency rate was 3.6%, CoreLogic said.

The seriously delinquent rate, meaning borrowers are at least 90 days late, rose slightly to 1.5%, the first annual increase since November 2010, according to the report. Nothaft expects the rate to quadruple by the end of 2021 without additional government support.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.