Home mortgage delinquencies spiked a record amount in April

• US home loans past due jumped by 1.6 million in April, the largest one-month gain ever, according to data from Black Knight.
• National delinquencies also posted a 90% increase, according to the Thursday report.
• The record surge is almost three times the previous single- month record set in 2008, according to Black Knight.
• Read more on Business Insider.

Delinquencies on US home loans jumped by a record amount in April as the coronavirus pandemic led to massive job losses and government programs began offering payment delays without penalties.

There were 3.6 million homeowners past due on their mortgages in April, a 1.6 million increase from the previous month, according to data from Black Knight. It's the largest one-month surge on record, and brings total to the most since January 2015.

The national delinquency rate nearly doubled to 6.45% from 3.06%, the report showed. The 90% record jump is almost three times the previous single- month record set in 2008, according to Black Knight.

About 4.7 million borrowers were in forbearance as of May 12, according to Black Knight data. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the government has allowed borrowers impacted by the virus to initially defer payment for six months without penalty.

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The outbreak has ravaged the US economy, including the housing market, as sweeping lockdowns to curb the spread of the disease closed businesses and kept consumers at home. In April, the US also lost a record 20.5 million jobs, and the unemployment rate tripled to 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression.

Nevada, New Jersey, and New York led the states in delinquency increases, each jumping roughly 5% from March. Of the large metro areas, Miami, Las Vegas, and New York city saw the biggest gains in delinquencies.

Moratoriums on foreclosures led both starts and sales to record lows in April. In addition, prepayment speeds also surged 23% from March and hit the highest monthly rate in 16 years.

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