Total noninterest income for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 included a $1.8 million gain on the sale-leaseback of the building that currently houses HarborOne’s Legion Parkway banking center in downtown Brockton and previously served as the Bank’s headquarters. The sale-leaseback continues the Company’s longtime commitment to Brockton, which was made in conjunction with a partnership to revitalize the downtown area, with plans for a mixed-use property that includes a lease-back by the Company for a state-of-the-art HarborOne banking center. The gain was partially offset by $675,000 in contribution expense from the bargain purchase element of the property sale and a $1.0 million loss on the sale of $17.5 million of available-for-sale securities with a weighted average book yield of 2.84%, as we take opportunities to improve the yield on earning assets. Management utilized the proceeds upon settlement to pay down wholesale funding carrying a rate of approximately 5.53%.
Total noninterest income decreased $743,000, or 5.9%, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to a $1.6 million, or 27.2%, decrease in mortgage banking income, partially offset by the gain noted above. The prior year quarter also reflected a $915,000 million increase in the MSR valuation.
Noninterest Expense
Total noninterest expense increased $1.3 million, or 4.4%, to $33.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, from $31.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The primary driver was a $1.3 million increase in compensation and benefits expenses due to both an increase in mortgage bankers during the quarter, and an increase in mortgage originator’s commission consistent with the increase in residential real estate mortgage origination volume. Additionally, marketing expense increased $552,000, primarily due to the $675,000 contribution expense noted above.
Total noninterest expense increased $1.4 million, or 4.5%, compared to the prior year quarter of $31.7 million. The primary driver was a $756,000 increase in compensation and benefits expenses due to accruals for incentive expense in the current period and none in the prior year period.
Asset Quality and Allowance for Credit Losses
Total nonperforming assets were $9.8 million at June 30, 2024, compared to $12.2 million at March 31, 2024 and $20.2 million at June 30, 2023. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets were 0.17% at June 30, 2024, 0.21% at March 31, 2024, and 0.36% at June 30, 2023. During the second quarter of 2024, a single nonperforming credit, included in the business-oriented hotel loan segment, with a carrying value of $1.8 million, was paid-off.
The Company recorded a $615,000 provision for credit losses for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The provision for loan credit losses was $1.1 million, partially offset by a negative provision of $534,000 for unfunded commitments. For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, a negative provision for credit losses of $168,000 was recorded, a result of $506,000 negative provision for unfunded commitments partially offset by a provision for loan credit losses of $338,000. The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $3.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, driven by a provision for loan credit losses of $3.5 million and a negative $215,000 provision for unfunded commitments. Loan credit loss provisioning primarily reflects replenishment of the allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) on loans due to charge-offs and loan growth. The June 30, 2024 ACL estimate also includes annually updated model assumptions.
Net charge-offs totaled $195,000, or 0.02%, of average loans outstanding on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, $125,000, or 0.01% of average loans outstanding on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended March 30, 2024, and $2.7 million, or 0.23% of average loans outstanding on an annualized basis, for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
The ACL on loans was $49.1 million, or 1.02% of total loans, at June 30, 2024, compared to $48.2 million, or 1.01% of total loans, at March 31, 2024 and $47.8 million, or 1.02% of total loans, at June 30, 2023. The ACL on unfunded commitments, included in other liabilities on the unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets, amounted to $2.9 million at June 30, 2024, compared to $3.4 million at March 31, 2024 and $4.8 million at June 30, 2023.
Management continues to closely monitor the loan portfolio for signs of deterioration in light of speculation that commercial real estate values may deteriorate as the market adjusts to higher vacancies and interest rates. The commercial real estate portfolio is centered in New England, with approximately 75% of the portfolio secured by property located in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Approximately 60% of the commercial real estate loans are fixed-rate loans which, in the opinion of management, have limited near-term maturity risk. As of June 30, 2024 and March 31, 2024, commercial loans rated “watch” amounted to $87.7 million and $67.9 million, respectively. Loans are rated “watch” at the point when there are signs of potential weakness. Management performs comprehensive reviews and works proactively with creditworthy borrowers facing financial distress and implements prudent workouts and accommodations to improve the Bank’s prospects of contractual repayment.
Three sub-sectors that management identified as potentially more susceptible to weakness includes business-oriented hotels, non-anchored retail space, and metro office space. As of June 30, 2024, business-oriented hotels loans included 12 loans with a total outstanding balance of $119.7 million, non-anchored retail space loans included 29 loans with a total outstanding balance of $48.6 million, and metro office space loans included one loan with a total outstanding balance of $6.2 million. All of the loans in these groups were performing in accordance with their terms.