The national mortgage delinquency rate fell eight basis points month over month in July, from 3.35% to 3.27%, according to “first look” data released Monday by ICE Mortgage Technology from an upcoming report set for release Sept. 8.

The total U.S. loan delinquency rate, which includes loans that are 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure, has improved nine basis points since July 2024 and is 0.58% lower than 2019.

“If you are looking for signs of a faltering economy, you won’t find them in July’s mortgage performance data,” Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at ICE, said in a press release. He added that the national delinquency rate improved on an annual basis for the second straight month, following a previous 13-month streak of consecutive increases.

Still, there were some signs of stress in the market last month. ICE data show that U.S. foreclosure starts totaled around 32,000 in July, which is up 4.3% month over month and 7.61% since July 2024.

Additionally, the delinquency rate of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, while down five basis points month over month, was 15 basis points above year-ago levels. FHA loans account for 52% of serious delinquencies nationwide, according to the ICE report.

Overall, the serious delinquency rate — defined as loans that are 90 or more days past due but not in foreclosure — was flat in July but up 6.88% year over year.

But the annual uptick of approximately 30,000 seriously delinquent loans is the smallest year-over-year increase since November 2024, which ICE attributes to fading impacts from recent wildfires and last year’s hurricane season.