According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s recent Forbearance and Call Volume Survey, the total number of loans in forbearance grew from 0.25% to 2.66% from March 2 to April 1, with mortgages backed by Ginnie Mae seeing the largest growth (from 0.19% to 4.25%).
As of April 1, independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers now have the largest share of loans in forbearance (3.45%), reflecting their focus on Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan programs, and serving low- to moderate-income borrowers.
“MBA’s survey highlights the immediate relief consumers are seeking as they navigate the economic hardships brought forth by the mitigation efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19,” says Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “The mortgage industry is committed to providing this much-needed forbearance as mandated by law under the CARES Act. It is expected that requests will continue to skyrocket at an unsustainable pace in the coming weeks, putting insurmountable cash flow constraints on many servicers – especially IMBs.”
Some key findings of the survey:
- Total loans in forbearance grew from 0.25% to 2.66%
- By investor type, Ginnie Mae loans grew the most: 0.19% to 4.25%
- Forbearance requests grew by 1,270% between the week of March 2 and the week of March 16, and another 1,896% between the week of March 16 and the week of March 30.
- In the servicer call center, hold times increased to 17.5 minutes from under two minutes (three weeks prior)
- Call abandonment rates grew to 25% from 5% (three weeks prior)
The MBA’s survey data covers 22.4 million loans serviced as of April 1, representing almost 45% of the first mortgage servicing market. The sample size is expected to increase in the coming weeks as more servicers respond to requests for participation.
