Nevadans are falling behind on their mortgage payments at a faster rate than homeowners in almost every other state, even though local borrowers are seeing their debt shrink.
Nevada had the second-highest mortgage delinquency rate nationwide, at 10.85 percent, in the quarter ending June 30, according to a report out today by TransUnion, a Chicago-based data research firm. Only Florida was higher, at 13.48 percent. The national rate was 5.49 percent.
North Dakota had the lowest delinquency rate in the country, at 1.32 percent.
Nevada also had one of the largest year-over-year declines in mortgage debt, according to TransUnion. Debt fell to $214,262 per borrower in the second quarter, from $244,100 a year earlier — a 12.2 percent drop.
The report comes a few weeks after the Nevada Association of Realtors reported that residents statewide are divided on whether it’s OK to willingly default on a mortgage loan.
Almost half — 45 percent — said there is nothing wrong with “strategic default,” in which homeowners who are financially capable of paying a mortgage choose not to make payments instead, according to the realtors group. An equal number disagreed, saying homeowners have a legal and ethical obligation to pay their mortgage if they can.