Eighth District Mortgage Delinquencies Continue To Fall During Fourth Quarter 2013

ST. LOUIS – Mortgage delinquencies continued to decline across the Eighth District during the fourth quarter of 2013, while housing prices were mixed, according to the St. Louis Fed’s latest Housing Market Conditions report.

The quarterly report provides a snapshot of housing market conditions in the U.S. and the Eighth District, which covers the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.* The report also now includes data for the District’s four main Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs): Little Rock, Louisville, Memphis and St. Louis.

Housing Prices

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, housing prices were mixed across the District, with Illinois, Indiana and Missouri reporting a slight increase for the fourth quarter 2013 compared with the third quarter 2013. Prices decreased in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. In the MSAs, prices were up slightly in Louisville, while they declined in Little Rock, Memphis and St. Louis.

On a year-over-year basis, housing prices rose in all states except Kentucky. In Illinois, prices were up 6.5 percent, while in Kentucky, they declined 0.7 percent. In the MSAs, prices rose slighly in Little Rock, Louisville and Memphis, while prices in the St. Louis MSA dipped 0.3 percent.

Eighth District 2013:Q4 House Price Performance

Mortgage Delinquencies

For the third quarter in a row in 2013, the percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages (delinquent 90 days or more, or in foreclosure) fell in all Eighth District states and its four main MSAs. In Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, delinquencies were under the national average of 4.99 percent, while Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Mississippi remained above. By MSA, Louisville and St. Louis were below the national average, at 4.53 percent and 4.01 percent respectively. Little Rock and Memphis remained above the national average, at 5.45 percent and 7.95 percent, respectively.

Eighth District 2013:Q4 Seriously Delinquent Mortgages

House Prices Stay Above 2011 Lows, Below 2007 Peaks

While house prices continued to climb during the fourth quarter of 2013 from lows reached in 2011, they remained below their 2007 peaks.

From their respective 2011 lows, prices were up 14.1 percent nationally, with Indiana house prices up 9.3 percent, the highest in the Eighth District. Meanwhile, prices in Arkansas were up 8.1 percent; Illinois, up 7.2 percent; Kentucky, up 2.3 percent; Mississippi, up 4.1 percent; Missouri, up 6.9 percent and Tennessee, up 7.6 percent. In the MSAs, prices were also up slightly from their respective 2007 lows, with Little Rock up 2.4 percent; Louisville, up 3.8 percent; Memphis, up 2.5 percent and St. Louis, up 0.3 percent.

Prices still remained below 2007 peaks, with national prices down 15 percent. In comparison, prices were down 7 percent in Arkansas; 26.7 percent in Illinois; 3.2 percent in Indiana, 6.1 percent in Kentucky; 12.9 percent in Mississippi; 13.9 percent in Missouri and 10.4 percent in Tennessee. Across the MSAs, prices were down from their respective peaks by 1.3 percent in Little Rock; 2.2 percent in Louisville, 12.2 percent in Memphis and 11.5 percent in St. Louis.

* Please note: While the Eighth District is comprised of the entire state of Arkansas and only parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, analysis is conducted on a statewide basis for each state's respective report.