Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure among youngest baby boomers

February 20, 2013

Among the youngest baby boomer—those born from 1957 to 1964—who owned a home in 2008, those who held negative equity in their home had delinquency and foreclosure rates that were several times higher than the rates for homeowners with equity in their homes.

Housing outcomes for homeowners born from 1957 to 1964 and living in the United States in 1979, by housing characteristics and life events in 2008

Housing outcomes for homeowners born from 1957 to 1964 and living in the United States in 1979, by housing characteristics and life events in 2008
Characteristic/Life eventProbability of housing outcome (in percent)
Delinquent on mortgage paymentsReceived a foreclosure noticeLost home to foreclosure

Percent equity in home in 2008

   

More than 40 percent equity

3.10.90.3

Less than 40 percent and more than 0 equity

11.64.62.1

Negative equity

21.110.58.3

Divorced or widowed from January 2007 to 2010 interview

   

Divorced or widowed

13.27.03.5

Not divorced or widowed

5.81.90.9

Number of weeks unemployed from January 2007 to 2010 interview

   

Unemployed for 13 weeks or more

15.07.23.5

Unemployed for less than 13 weeks

5.31.70.8

Unemployment and divorce or widowhood are associated with a greater probability of adverse housing outcomes. Over the period from January 2007 to the 2010 interview, homeowners unemployed for 13 weeks or more had nearly three times the rate of delinquency and over four times the chance of receiving a foreclosure notice or losing one's home as homeowners unemployed fewer than 13 weeks. Similarly, those who became divorced or widowed were more likely than those who had not experienced such a change in their marital status to become delinquent in their mortgage, receive a foreclosure notice, or lose their home to foreclosure.

These data are from the National Longitudinal Surveys program. To learn more, see "Patterns of homeownership, delinquency, and foreclosure among youngest baby boomers" (HTML) (PDF), by Alison Aughinbaugh in Beyond the Numbers, volume 2, number 2, February 2013.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Editor's Desk, Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure among youngest baby boomers on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130220.htm (visited May 21, 2013).

OF INTEREST

Spotlight on Statistics: International Labor Comparisons

This Spotlight compares output, unemployment, compensation, productivity, consumer prices, and other measures around the world.  Read more »