The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not be current. This website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; we do not recommend or endorse the contents of any third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney, accountant or credit counselor to obtain advice with respect to their particular situation. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or not act on the basis of information on this site. Always seek personal legal, financial or credit advice for your relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney or advisor can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective employers.
Credit.com receives compensation for the financial products and services advertised on this site if our users apply for and sign up for any of them. Compensation is not a factor in the substantive evaluation of any product.
Even with mortgage rates at historically low rates, existing home sales slowed to an annual 6.1% growth rate in November, the National Association of Realtors reports. Though the share of first-time homebuyers (31%) was the largest it’s been since Oct. 2012.
Meanwhile, the foreclosure rate was down slightly (1%) in November from the same time last year, with one in every 1,170 U.S. housing units in some stage of foreclosure, according to the November RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.
So continues the slow recovery of the U.S. housing market. Still, some states aren’t keeping up with the meager national improvements. To get an idea of which states are lagging most in the housing recovery, we looked at a few data points by state: mortgage originations per capita (rounded, using U.S. Census data), 90-day mortgage delinquency rate, average credit score (the VantageScore model) and foreclosure rate. The foreclosure data comes from November’s RealtyTrac report, while the rest is third-quarter 2014 Experian Intelliview data.
We ranked each state from worst to best in each category and added the rankings (weighted equally) to reach a housing market score, the worst possible score being 4 and the best being 204 (the District of Columbia was included). This isn’t meant to be a definitive analysis of the housing markets in each state, but rather a temperature reading of general housing health. After all, a high foreclosure rate, low mortgage origination rate, high mortgage delinquency rate and low average credit score don’t exactly make a state market ripe for housing growth.
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0054 (23rd lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 581 units (3rd highest)
Delinquency rate: 2.49% (10th highest)
Average VantageScore: 664 (21st lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0037 (5th lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 1,379 units (20th highest)
Delinquency rate: 1.92% (22nd highest)
Average VantageScore: 650 (9th lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0023 (lowest of any state)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 5,663 (45th highest)
Delinquency rate: 2.52% (8th highest)
Average VantageScore: 635 (lowest of any state)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0039 (6th lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 1,051 units (13th highest)
Delinquency rate: 2.24% (14th highest)
Average VantageScore: 658 (17th lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0042 (10th lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 478 units (2nd highest)
Delinquency rate: 3.31% (2nd highest)
Average VantageScore: 678 (33rd lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0052 (22nd lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 783 units (6th highest)
Delinquency rate: 2.87% (3rd highest)
Average VantageScore: 637 (2nd lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0039 (7th lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 1,025 units (11th highest)
Delinquency rate: 2.33% (11th highest)
Average VantageScore: 645 (3rd lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0035 (3rd lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 693 units (4th highest)
Delinquency rate: 2.77% (4th highest)
Average VantageScore: 661 (19th lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0041 (8th lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 933 units (10th highest)
Delinquency rate: 2.75% (5th highest)
Average VantageScore: 649 (6th lowest)
Mortgage origination per capita: 0.0042 (11th lowest)
Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 462 (highest of any state)
Delinquency rate: 3.95% (highest of any state)
Average VantageScore: 657 (16th lowest)
Mortgage originations, foreclosure rates and delinquency rates give a strong indication of how things are going in the state’s housing market, but the credit score adds another level of insight, because it’s harder to get a mortgage with a low credit score.
Mortgage credit, which has been extremely tight in recent years, is expected to open up in 2015. First-time homebuyers will have the opportunity to make lower down payments, as well. Even with those expected improvements, good credit is paramount in getting through the mortgage process. Before you think about home shopping or applying for a mortgage, get a free summary of your credit report on Credit.com and see how you can improve your score in the coming months. You can also use this calculator to see how much house you can afford.
Image: Purestock
December 13, 2023
Mortgages
June 7, 2021
Mortgages