First Look at March 2026 Mortgage Data
Industry Update
April 24, 2026
Source: ICE Mortgage Technology
Seasonal Improvements Lowered Mortgage Delinquencies in March While Prepayment Activity Reached Nearly Four-Year High
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading provider of technology and data for global financial markets, today released its March 2026 ICE First Look at mortgage delinquency, foreclosure and prepayment trends. The report showed mortgage delinquencies improved seasonally in March, with cure activity strengthening and prepayment speeds rising to their highest level in nearly four years, even as foreclosure volumes continued to climb.
“March brought the seasonal improvement we typically expect to see this time of year,” said Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at ICE. “Delinquencies moved lower, with improvement across the earlier stages of mortgage performance as fewer loans rolled into delinquency. Prepayment activity also climbed to its highest level in nearly four years as borrowers responded to a lower-rate environment. At the same time, serious delinquencies continue to broadly trend higher, with 154,000 more borrowers 90-plus days past due or in active foreclosure, compared to the same time last year. While overall mortgage performance remains healthy for most borrowers, the continued buildup in late-stage delinquencies and foreclosure pipelines remains worth watching.”
Key takeaways from this month’s findings include:
Delinquencies fell on a seasonal basis: The national delinquency rate declined by 37 basis points (bps) in March to 3.35%, in line with the typical seasonal improvement for the month, though still 14 basis points above last year.
Prepayment activity climbed sharply: Prepayment speeds (SMM) rose 24 bps from February to 1.06%, the highest level in nearly four years and 78% above March 2025.
Delinquency performance improved across the board: New delinquency inflow fell by 23% seasonally in March and was effectively flat from the same time last year with rolls to 60- and 90-day delinquency also improving in the month.
Cure activity rebounded: Total cures rose to 547,000, up 27% from February, with cures on 90-plus day delinquent loans also posting a strong month-over-month increase.
Non-current loan volumes declined but remained above last year: The number of loans 30-plus days past due or in foreclosure fell by 194,000 in March to 2.12 million but remained 8.2% above year-ago levels.
Serious delinquencies and foreclosure inventories continued to rise: Despite March’s improvement, 154K more borrowers are 90 or more days past due, or in active foreclosure, compared to the same time last year, with foreclosure starts (+17%) and sales (+21%) also seeing noticeable increases from last year’s levels
Foreclosure inventory hit highest level in 6 years: Active foreclosure inventory rose to 273,000 in March, up from 213,000 a year ago, marking the largest such volume since February 2020.
For full report, please click the source link above.