The share of U.S. mortgages behind on payments rose to 3.66% in September, while the number of loans in active foreclosure climbed 37% from a year earlier to its highest level since early 2019, according to the September 2026 ICE First Look that Intercontinental Exchange released Oct. 27.
The 12-basis-point monthly increase in the national delinquency rate was roughly in line with its usual seasonal pattern, ICE said. The rate is still 34 basis points below September 2019 and below every pre-pandemic September on record. In ICE’s August report, the rate was 3.53%.
Delinquencies: steady overall, better for FHA
Below the headline rate, the September data show modest movement. Loans 30 days past due were up 5% from a year earlier. Serious delinquencies, loans 90 or more days past due, were up 21% year over year but down 5% from their February peak. At 1.04% of active loans, the serious delinquency share is now in line with its 2017-2019 September average of 1.06%, ICE said.
Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, which serve many first-time and low-down-payment buyers, also improved. ICE said serious FHA delinquencies have fallen 10% since February.
Foreclosures: fewer starts, more completions
The foreclosure numbers point in two directions. Foreclosure starts fell 3% from a year earlier in September, a sharp change from August, when ICE reported starts up 29% year over year. But completed foreclosure sales rose 15% from a year earlier, and the active foreclosure inventory grew 37%, reaching its highest level since early 2019.
ICE also reported a change in which loans are failing. Loans originated in 2022 or later, when mortgage rates were much higher than in the pandemic refinancing boom, accounted for 43% of September’s foreclosure starts and 49% of completed sales. More than three-quarters of active foreclosures have been delinquent for less than 18 months, and ICE said foreclosure aging has fallen to a 15-year low.
On our reading, that matters more than the headline rate. A foreclosure pipeline made up of loans that went bad recently, rather than long-stalled pandemic-era cases, can move to completion faster, which would be consistent with the jump in completed sales even as new starts eased. It also lines up with the 25% rise in foreclosure auction volume that Auction.com reported for the third quarter.
Bob Hart, president of mortgage technology at ICE, said in the release that “serious delinquencies and active foreclosures are drawing renewed attention,” adding that servicers “need to reach homeowners early to help keep them in their homes and move quickly from first contact to an executable workout without manual handoffs.”
Prepayments at a 19-month low
High rates continue to keep borrowers in place. Prepayment speeds, measured by single-month mortality, fell 4 basis points to 0.59% in September, the sixth straight monthly decline from 1.06% in March and the lowest reading since February 2025. Prepayments are down 20% from a year earlier, which ICE attributed to elevated mortgage rates suppressing activity.
Rates eased slightly in the latest week. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.32% as of Oct. 22, down from 7.40% the week before but well above 6.19% a year earlier. With rates at that level, few borrowers holding pre-2022 loans have a rate incentive to refinance, which helps explain the low prepayment speeds.
ICE said it will publish a fuller analysis in its monthly Mortgage Monitor report. Follow ongoing lending coverage in our mortgage section.
