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C12 · HOUSEHOLD STRESS WHERE IT BREAKS FIRST

Single-family mortgage delinquency rate

1.89
CALM ROBUST z -0.76 DRS 95 quarterly as of 2026-01-01

Where it sits: lower than ~64% of its last decade.

The full history

1991 high 11.48 · low 1.41 · now 1.89 · 4 recessions shaded 2026

How it is read

What it measures
household stress where it breaks first
Where it sits
lower than ~64% of its last decade — at the 36th percentile of its last decade.
z vs. its window
-0.76 (strain side: up). 39 observations in the window.
State rule
z < 1 CALM · 1 ≤ z < 2 WATCH · z ≥ 2 EXTREME, measured only toward the declared strain side.
Confidence
ROBUST — a primary official series, mechanically reported.
Reliability (DRS)
DRS 95 — Commercial-bank book, quarterly since 1991. The transmission tile between the affordability story (section 02) and the credit system.

Where it comes from

FRED ↗ Every number on this site is reproducible from this primary source.

What it read at past stress points

Lehman, Sep 2008 5.27 ▲ EXTREME
Q4-2018 selloff 2.83 · CALM
Curve inversion, Aug 2019 2.44 · CALM
COVID crash, Mar 2020 2.35 · CALM

Questions it helps answer

  • The Household — Can households carry their own ledger?
  • The Plumbing — Is the banking and credit system carrying its load?