Single-Family Delinquencies Decrease, While Multifamily Delinquencies Are on the Rise

In May, serious delinquencies for single-family homes decreased, while those for multifamily homes increased slightly. According to the Calculated Risk blog, both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae concurred but with slightly different figures. Freddie Mac reported a decline in the single-family serious delinquency rate to 0.49% in May, compared with 0.51% in April and 0.58% in May 2023. This rate is now below pre-pandemic lows. Similarly, Fannie Mae's single-family serious delinquency rate fell to 0.48% in May from 0.49% in April and from 0.56% in May 2023. This rate is also below pre-pandemic lows and is the lowest since November 2002.

The multi-family rate increased following the pandemic and has increased recently as rent growth has slowed, vacancy rates have increased, and borrowing rates have increased sharply. The rate surged higher in January but declined in February and March. This will be something to watch as more apartments come on the market.

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