Legal Filings

First Missed

0.7% — down from 0.8% a year ago; early-stage mortgage trouble easing slightly

What is the current First Missed?

CORELOGIC EARLY-STAGE DELINQUENCY TRANSITIONS
0.7% ↓ Improving
The national mortgage delinquency rate held steady at 3% in
One year ago
0.8% ↓ Improving
down 0.1 points since Sep 2024

CoreLogic's early-stage transition data tracks the rate at which current mortgages move to 30-day delinquency for the first time — the earliest measurable signal in the mortgage distress pipeline. A rising transition rate indicates that homeowners who were previously current are beginning to fall behind, often months before these mortgages appear in standard delinquency statistics. Source: CoreLogic Early-Stage Delinquency Transitions.

The national mortgage delinquency rate held steady at 3% in September 2025, unchanged year over year but up slightly from 2.9% in Q2 2025, with serious delinquencies inching up to 1% and the share of metros with rising foreclosure rates jumping from 8% to 39% year over year despite a stable 0.3% national foreclosure inventory rate.

Tracking improving relative to recent baseline.

Source: CoreLogic / Cotality Monthly Report · Latest: 2025-09

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How has First Missed changed over time?

CSV Chart Card
First Missed over time
First Missed, percent
First Missed
Historical data
Monthly · CoreLogic / Cotality Monthly Report
Period Value YoY Change
Sep 2025 0.7% −0.1 pts
Jun 2025 0.6% −0.3 pts
Sep 2024 0.8%
Jun 2024 0.9%

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the early-stage transition rate measure?

It measures the rate at which current (performing) mortgages transition to 30-day delinquency for the first time. This is the earliest measurable signal in the mortgage default pipeline, capturing new distress before it shows up in standard delinquency statistics.

Why is this an early warning indicator?

Standard delinquency rates count all loans that are behind — including those already deep in the default pipeline. The early-stage transition rate specifically isolates new delinquencies, showing whether the rate of new households falling behind is accelerating or decelerating.

Where does this data come from?

CoreLogic tracks mortgage performance data from its loan-level database, which covers a large share of the U.S. mortgage market. Early-stage transition metrics are published in CoreLogic's monthly Loan Performance Insights reports.

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Why does First Missed matter?

First Missed is one of 91 indicators in the American Distress Index's legal filings layer — the signal that predicted the 2008 crisis two years before delinquency data confirmed it.
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