Mortgage delinquency rate down, foreclosure rate up in Whatcom County

Written by Dave Gallagher | The Bellingham Herald | January 29, 2013

Fewer Whatcom County residents are late on their mortgage payments, but more are dealing with home foreclosure, according to a new report.

The percentage of Whatcom County loans that are more than 90 days delinquent was 4.16 in November, the lowest monthly percentage  in nearly two years, according to data from CoreLogic, a national provider of property information.

Whatcom’s delinquency rate remains lower than the Washington (6.36 percent) and national (6.45 percent) rates.

At the same time the delinquency rate is declining, the foreclosure rate has been rising. In November the percentage of loans in some stage of fore-closure was 1.54, the highest monthly rate since July 2011.

Whatcom’s foreclosure rate in November was slightly higher that Washington’s rate of 1.5 percent, but lower than the national rate of 2.97 per-cent.