Commercial Loan Delinquency Remains Low

SACRAMENTO, CA-The California Commercial Loan Delinquency Ratio remained below one half of one percent during the final three months of 2003, according to the locally based California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Quarterly Delinquency Survey released this month. The delinquency rate has remained below one half of one percent for 21 consecutive quarters.

The good news for vulture investors, which now prefer the euphemism “opportunity investors,” is that the delinquency rate has been steadily rising. The year-end 2003 delinquency ratio was 0.35%. Three months earlier, it was 0.29% and at year-end 2002 it was 0.14%.

The CMBA survey of its members found that 99.65% of the California commercial real estate loans serviced by eighteen mortgage banking firms were either current or only one payment delinquent. That translates to 21 individual loans — representing $212 million of $59.8 billion in loans and 0.21% of the nearly 10,000 loans included in the survey — being more than two or more payments past due.