The share of mortgages in COVID-19-related forbearance plans fell to 5.83% as of October 25, down from 5.90% the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Volume Survey.
“With more borrowers exiting forbearance in the prior week, the share of loans in forbearance declined across all loan types,” says Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “Almost half of forbearance exits to date have been from borrowers who remained current while in forbearance, or who were reinstated by paying back past-due amounts.
“The share of loans in forbearance has returned to levels last seen in early April, but it still remains remarkably high,” Fratantoni adds. “Further improvement will require ongoing recovery in the job market, as well as additional fiscal stimulus.”
The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance dropped for the 21st week in a row to 3.66% – a six-basis-point improvement.
Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased four basis points to 8.13%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased by eight basis points to 8.82%.
The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased eight basis points to 6.27%, while the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers remained unchanged from the previous week at 5.86%.
