North-South Divide Percolates in Defect, Fraud and Misrepresentation Risk
December 1, 2016
According to the latest data from First American’s Loan Application Defect Index, there’s a growing division between the North and South.
“Cotton states in the South are showing the highest levels of risk, compared to the northern rust-belt, where application and defect risk is currently the lowest,” said Mark Fleming, First American’s chief economist.
Fleming added that defect risk is concentrating in states such as Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and South Carolina. Meanwhile, states such as New York Pennsylvania and Ohio have the least loan application defect and misrepresentation risk.
State Highlights
The five states with the highest year-over-year increase in defect frequency are
- Maine (+30.6 percent)
- South Dakota (+19.6 percent)
- Vermont (+15.1 percent)
- North Dakota (+11.1 percent)
- Wyoming (+11.1 percent).
The five states with the highest year-over-year decrease in defect frequency are:
- Michigan (-21.7 percent)
- Florida (-19.8 percent)
- California (-19.5 percent)
- Oklahoma (-17.0 percent)
- Rhode Island (-16.7 percent)
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