One of the deepest wounds of the US financial crisis has finally healed
Foreclosure signs popped up at a startling rate, and many Americans fell behind on their mortgage.
Nearly a decade after the worst of the housing crisis, the financial wound that hit many looks as if it is finally healed.
According to Capital Economics, the delinquency rate for US mortgages and foreclosure rate for homes are now back to their historical averages.
"It must be remembered that after declining steadily since 2010, the delinquency rate has now returned to its historic norm. It is now at its lowest since the middle of 2006, and is equal to the average seen from 1985 to 2005," said Matthew Pointon, Capital Economics property economist.
The delinquency rate measures the number of homeowners that are behind on their mortgage payments but are not in the foreclosure process.
Pointon said that it was disappointing that the rate didn't decline for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2013, but it's not unexpected given that the rate is close to its non-recessionary norm.
What made the lateral move more palatable, he said, was the continued decline in the foreclosure rate.
"More encouragingly, the foreclosure start rate is continuing to drop, and the decline over the past few years has outpaced that of delinquencies," said Pointon. "At just 0.35%, it is at its lowest rate since 2000."
Thus, the housing market, while having a number of new problems, still looks healthy for those already in homes.