ICE First Look at Mortgage Performance: National Mortgage Delinquency Rate Edges Lower in January

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, today released the January 2026 ICE First Look at mortgage delinquency, foreclosure and prepayment trends.

"Mortgage performance held steady to start the year, with fewer early-stage delinquencies helping bring the national delinquency rate down," said Andy Walden, Head of Mortgage and Housing Market Research at ICE. "At the same time, late-stage delinquencies and foreclosure volumes are both trending higher than they were a year ago. The data points to a market that remains resilient overall with most borrowers performing well while a subset faces increased payment pressure."

Key takeaways from this month's findings include:

• The national delinquency rate eased in January: Delinquencies fell by 3 basis points (bps) in January to 3.65% and remain 15 bps below the January 2020 pre-pandemic benchmark.
• Early-stage delinquencies drove the decrease: The number of borrowers 30 or 60 days late on their mortgage payments fell by 54,000 from December to January, driving the overall improvement in delinquency figures.
• Combined serious delinquency and foreclosure volumes increased: While earlier stage delinquencies improved, there are now more than 850,000 borrowers 90-plus days past due or in active foreclosure, up 104,000 from the same time last year, the largest such volume since July 2022.
• Foreclosure activity continued to rise: January saw 42,000 foreclosure starts, the highest monthly total since early 2020 and up 5% year over year, with foreclosure sales rose 28%.
• Prepayments pulled back: The single month mortality (SMM) rate, which tracks prepayments, dropped 19 bps to 0.72% from elevated levels over the past three months. An uptick in interest rates in December resulted in fewer January home sales and reduced refinance activity.

Data as of January 31, 2026

Total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure): 3.65%

Month-over-month change: -0.93%

Year-over-year change: 5.04%



Total U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 0.46%

Month-over-month change: 6.78%

Year-over-year change: 22.38%



Total U.S. foreclosure starts: 42,000

Month-over-month change 6.47%

Year-over-year change: 4.77%



Monthly prepayment rate (SMM): 0.72%

Month-over-month change: -21.17%

Year-over-year change: 49.59%



Foreclosure sales: 8,100

Month-over-month change: 13.38%

Year-over-year change: 27.87%



Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 2,006,000

Month-over-month change: -19,000

Year-over-year change: 121,000



Number of properties that are 90 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure: 595,000

Month-over-month change: 35,000

Year-over-year change: 55,000



Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: 255,000

Month-over-month change: 16,000

Year-over-year change: 49,000



Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure: 2,261,000

Month-over-month change: -3,000

Year-over-year change: 170,000

The company will provide a more in-depth review of this data in its monthly Mortgage Monitor report, which includes an analysis of data supplemented by detailed charts and graphs that reflect trend and point-in-time observations. The Mortgage Monitor report will be available online at https://www.icemortgagetechnology.com/resources/data-reports.

For more information about gaining access to ICE's loan-level database, please send an email to [email protected].

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE's futures, equity, and options exchanges – including the New York Stock Exchange – and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world's largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.

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Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 – Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on February 5, 2026.

Category: Mortgage Technology

Source: Intercontinental Exchange

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