New business continued to grow at MGIC Investment Corp. as the number of delinquent mortgage insurance policies retreated for the 23rd consecutive month. But the rate of delinquency might have turned higher.
New insurance written during June amounted to $2.2 billion.
Business improved from $2.0 billion in policies that were written in May. Activity has expanded each month since February, when $1.3 billion in new policies were written.
During the same month last year, volume totaled $1.2 billion.
MGIC insured $5.9 billion in mortgages during the second quarter, also an improvement from the first quarter’s $4.2 billion and $3.1 billion in the same period last year.
The number of delinquent policies as of June 30 was 153,990, a few less than the 154,973 mortgages that were delinquent the prior month and the 184,452 past-due policies in June 2011.
The delinquent inventory has fallen each month since July 2010’s 229,012.
However, using an estimated 1,037,508 policies in force as of last month, estimated delinquency was 14.84 percent, a little higher than the estimated 14.81 percent delinquency rate in May.
The rate of past-due policies was 15.80 percent a year earlier.
