The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey reveals that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 24 basis points from 4.9% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 4.66% as of April 4.
That equates to approximately 2.3 million homeowners in forbearance plans.
The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased to 2.52% – a 20-basis-point improvement. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 45 basis points to 6.33%, while the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased by 15 basis points to 8.65%.
The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 29 basis points to 4.89%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers declined 23 basis points to 4.80%.
“The share of loans in forbearance decreased for the sixth straight week, dropping by 24 basis points – one of the largest decreases in the history of the series,” says Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “Overall, forbearance exits increased to their fastest pace since early November.”
By stage, 13.2% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 82% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 4.8% are forbearance re-entries.
Of the cumulative forbearance exits for the period from June 1, 2020, through April 4, 26.4% resulted in a loan deferral/partial claim, 26% represented borrowers who continued to make their monthly payments during their forbearance period, and 14.5% resulted in reinstatements, in which past-due amounts are paid back when exiting forbearance.
“Almost 32 percent of borrowers in forbearance extensions have now exceeded the 12-month mark,” Fratantoni adds. “In terms of performance, more than 88 percent of homeowners who have exited into deferral plans, modifications or repayment plans were current on their loans at the end of March, compared to 92% of all homeowners.”
Photo: by w.marsh, licensed under CC BY 2.0
