CoreLogic Reports an 11.4% Year-Over-Year Decrease in Mortgage Fraud Risk in the Second Quarter of 2019

Risk index decreases for the first time since Q3 2016 as lower interest rates brought an influx of low-risk refinances
iBuyers represent a new wrinkle in the area of fraud detection

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its latest Mortgage Fraud Report. The report shows an 11.4% year-over-year decrease in fraud risk at the end of the second quarter, as measured by the CoreLogic Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index, which is the first decrease since the third quarter of 2016.

The analysis found that during the second quarter of 2019, an estimated one in 123 mortgage applications, or 0.81% of all applications, contained indications of fraud, compared with the reported one in 109, or 0.91% in the second quarter of 2018.

The CoreLogic Mortgage Fraud Report analyzes the collective level of loan application fraud risk experienced in the mortgage industry each quarter. CoreLogic develops the index based on residential mortgage loan applications processed by CoreLogic LoanSafe Fraud Manager™, a predictive scoring technology. The report includes detailed data for six fraud type indicators that complement the national index: identity, income, occupancy, property, transaction and undisclosed real estate debt.

"The decrease in fraud risk mid-2019 appears temporary, based on unexpected interest rate drops and the resulting influx of low-risk refinance transactions," said Bridget Berg, principal of Fraud Solutions Strategy for CoreLogic. "The absolute number of risky loans has not decreased but are simply part of a larger mortgage market at this time."

Report Highlights:

• New York, New Jersey and Florida remain the top three states for mortgage application fraud risk. For the first time since 2017, New Jersey outpaced Florida and moved into the second highest position.
• Eight of the top 10 riskiest states showed stable or decreasing risk over the past year.
• States with the greatest year-over-year risk growth include Idaho, Alabama, Mississippi, New York and Delaware. States with the largest decreases include Kansas, Missouri, Massachusetts, Illinois and New Mexico.
• Jumbo loans for home purchases is the only segment showing a risk increase.
• Nationally, all fraud types showed decreased risk. Undisclosed Real Estate Debt fraud risk had the greatest decrease year over year, followed by decreases in Property and Income fraud types.
• iBuyers — or companies that use technology to instantly make an offer on a home — accounted for more than 1% of all home sales in 2018 and are a contributing factor in the overall decline of fraud risk.

To view the full CoreLogic Mortgage Fraud Report, click here.

About CoreLogic

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), the leading provider of property insights and solutions, promotes a healthy housing market and thriving communities. Through its enhanced property data solutions, services and technologies, CoreLogic enables real estate professionals, financial institutions, insurance carriers, government agencies and other housing market participants to help millions of people find, acquire and protect their homes. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.