Fewer Las Vegas area homeowners behind on mortgages

With the economy clawing back from the chaos of the pandemic, the share of Southern Nevada homeowners who are months behind on their mortgage payments is improving too.

An estimated 5.93 percent of Las Vegas-area home loans were at least 90 days past due in January, down from a recent high of 6.58 percent in August after the coronavirus outbreak upended daily life, according to housing tracker CoreLogic.

Nationally, payments were at least three months late on 3.76 percent of mortgages in January, down from 4.26 percent in August, the research firm reported.

Southern Nevada’s housing market has been on a streak of record prices and rising sales that has lasted months, thanks in large part to rock-bottom mortgage rates that have let people lock in lower monthly payments and stretch their budgets, sparking a buying frenzy.

But the local economy was devastated by the pandemic, given its heavy reliance on tourism, and more homeowners fell behind on their mortgages amid steep job losses.

Las Vegas’ share of delinquent borrowers is still higher than it was before the public health crisis, but it’s coming down as people get vaccinated and the pummeled economy regains its footing.

Delinquency rates are falling in many cities and seem to be shrinking a bit faster in Southern Nevada than in other markets, CoreLogic deputy chief economist Selma Hepp told the Review-Journal on Tuesday.

She said the improvement is tied to the economy, as many people have returned to work since last year’s shutdowns. But she also noted it could be partly attributed to delinquent borrowers selling their homes, which removes them from being counted with other past-due mortgage holders.

Las Vegas’ jobless rate was 3.9 percent early last year but shot up to 34 percent last April after Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered casinos and other Nevada businesses closed to help contain the virus’ spread. As of last month, it was down to 8.8 percent, state officials reported Tuesday.

Amid the turmoil, government-ordered foreclosure moratoriums have helped keep people in their homes, and borrowers have been able to enroll in so-called forbearance programs to temporarily pause or lower their mortgage payments.

Early last year, before the pandemic hit, around 1.25 percent of home loans in the Las Vegas area were at least 90 days late, according to CoreLogic. Despite the higher delinquency rates lately, a far bigger share of homeowners fell behind on their payments a decade or so ago after Las Vegas’ housing market crashed, following its wild mid-2000s bubble.

Locally, 19.4 percent of mortgages were at least 90 days past due in 2010, up from 0.6 percent in 2006, CoreLogic previously reported.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.