Since day one, we've been dedicated to industry-leading transparency into our business processes and performance. A few new things in case you've missed them:
- We released the latest investor report on the 3Q23 performance of the Horizon Residential Income Fund I, LLC (HRIF). Read the report here.
- Upright was named to the 2023 Deloitte Fast 500 list, ranked at #246 for 570% growth in the past three years.
- The 10-year Treasury yield fell below 5%. Get other key CPI updates and read our thoughts on what this means for the housing market.
November's Performance
In November, we originated 162 loans, totaling more than $49.5 million in origination volume.
As of November 1, 10.79% of our total loan count was 31 days or more late on payments. 
Historic delinquency rate considering the entire year, from 2016 onward:
One item to note is that 15% of our outstanding delinquencies were originated since July of 2022 and just 7% since October 2022. This momentum, the reduced number of new projects entering the delinquent population, and data on the analysis of our delinquent loans (chart immediately above) continue to paint the picture that this is a legacy problem caused by the short-term duration of our notes compared to longer foreclosure/default timelines, as well as the reduced volume of originations in Q1 2023 compared to payoffs that reduce our denominator in percentage calculations.
November Investment Details
Moreover, in the month of November we saw:
- $23,873,000 in new investments across all retail investment offerings (Borrower-Dependent Notes (BDN), PFNF, RBNF) at a WAVG rate of 11.04% (not inclusive of HRIF, which depends on performance).
- $957,000 HRIF investments
- $15,204,000 BDN investments
- $7,712,000 series note investments (PFNF, RBNF)
- 1,587 total investments
- 10.4% average rate of return
- Total of $3,422,177 paid to investors in actual income, including:
- $3,179,147 in interest
- $4,340 in late fees
- $131,293 in extension fees
- 107,396 in Horizon Fund distributions
How We Present Our Data
As you can see in the charts above, we show you the total count (rather than $ amount) of delinquent loans. This is to remain transparent on our business performance, but also to better align with the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) standard, published in its National Delinquency Survey (NDS), which is based on loan count. However, the MBA classifies delinquency as loans that are 60+ days late on payments. We show you the count of delinquent loans from 31+ days to again, remain transparent.
The NDS states:
The delinquency rates and foreclosure starts rate are seasonally adjusted to account for trends in the data that are caused by the time of the year. For example, delinquencies tend to increase from the first to fourth quarters, peaking in the fourth quarter, before falling in the first quarter of the next year and beginning the cycle again."
The data we share in our Performance Reports is not seasonally adjusted, but we feel it's pertinent to explain seasonal trends when applicable.
More Insight into Delinquencies
We are always focused on a successful exit to maximize the repayment of principal and speed to liquidity.
With foreclosures, unfortunately, we are at the mercy of county court systems working through lengthy foreclosure processes, or our borrowers exiting their projects. We know some of our delinquencies are strategic, as developers delay liquidity events of other projects for key buying seasons.
With the recent cooling of inflationary real estate figures, total days on market continue to come down to early 2022 levels, currently hovering around the 40 days mark, and home prices in most of our markets are continuing to climb back to mid-2022 numbers. This is in line with our thesis that — especially within our chosen operational geographies — there is a true housing supply shortage as household formations continue to significantly outpace housing inventory.
Other things affecting the performance of our book include:
- Changing availability and/or terms of capital for refinancing or end-buyer financing impacts exit timelines and monthly payments.
- Several high-dollar loans remain delinquent on payments (with priority on exit and repayment).
- Continued supply chain issues and labor shortages contribute to construction delays and eventually, delinquencies.
What We're Doing
As always, we're actively working with our borrowers to keep their projects moving forward, on track, and current on payments. We have recently restructured the lending side of our business in order to ensure portfolio performance is our top priority.
- Self-service tools to make it easier for borrowers to request draws, payoffs, and more.
- Our Account Management and Sales teams work closely with each other and borrowers to ensure payments and projects are current before proceeding with new loans for the same client.
- Additionally, the Account Management team works diligently to ensure as few loans as possible remain delinquent longer than 30 days.
- Updated, more efficient processes to review delinquent accounts and issue notice of default communications sooner.
We're also continuing to build a strong forward pipeline even in a somewhat uncertain real estate market, remaining selective on markets to enter and what projects we fund by focusing more on appraisals and historic performance. The Upright operational and business strategy is designed around utilizing a diverse capital stack so we're always positioned to weather market volatility and come out ahead.
If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback, email us at ir@upright.us. We will respond as soon as possible.
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