Consumer default rates are edging lower, according to data from S&P Indices and Experian, as recession-scarred consumers continued to repair household balance sheets in May.
Default rates on first and second mortgages last month eased to 2.09% and 1.42%, from 2.16% and 1.51%, respectively, in April. A default rate on auto loans also fell, to 1.34% from 1.45%, though a bank card default rate posted a slight increase last month.
Leading the pack in lower defaults last month was New York and Los Angeles. In New York, the rate of default has halved, to 1.94%, from a year ago. Still, high unemployment rates continue to weigh on consumers in some parts of the country. In Miami, where unemployment stands at roughly 11%, S&P recorded a default rate of 5.31%