First Look At December 2020 Mortgage Data

• The year ended with 1.54 million more delinquent and 1.7 million more seriously delinquent mortgages than at the start of 2020, a looming reminder of the challenges facing the market in 2021
• Despite the year-over-year increase, the national delinquency rate saw modest improvement in December, falling by 3.9% from November to 6.08%, the lowest level since April 2020
• Serious delinquencies (loans 90 or more days past due) also improved, falling to 2.15 million from 2.19 million the month prior
• Even after months of improvement, 90-day default activity rose by more than 250% (+2.6 million) overall in 2020
• Foreclosure starts fell by 67% from the year prior and the year’s 40,000 foreclosure sales (completions) represented an annual decline of more than 70%
• Starts and sales have hit record lows as moratoriums and forbearance plans protect distressed homeowners from facing foreclosure in the wake of the pandemic
• Prepayment activity rose by 12% in December, ending the year 112% higher than the same month in 2019 and highlighting a still-strong refinance market entering 2021

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jan. 22, 2021 – Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) reports the following “first look” at December 2020 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database representing the majority of the national mortgage market.

*Non-current totals combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of active loans in that state.

Notes:

• Totals are extrapolated based on Black Knight’s loan-level database of mortgage assets.
• All whole numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand, except foreclosure starts, which are rounded to the nearest hundred.

The company will provide a more in-depth review of this data in its monthly Mortgage Monitor report, which includes an analysis of data supplemented by detailed charts and graphs that reflect trend and point-in-time observations. The Mortgage Monitor report will be available online by Feb. 1, 2021.

For more information about gaining access to Black Knight’s loan-level database, please send an email to Mortgage.Monitor@bkfs.com.

About Black Knight

Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers, gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.

Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support to achieve their strategic goals and better serving their customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com.