The share of mortgage loans in forbearance remained flat for a fourth straight month at 0.22% as of April 30, according to Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey.
About 110,000 homeowners are currently in forbearance plans, the MBA estimates.
Since March 2020, mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.1 million borrowers.
In April, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance declined 1 basis point to 0.11% while the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance dropped 1 basis point to 0.39%, and the share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) stayed the same at 0.31%.
“The number of loans in forbearance has remained stagnant for the first four months of 2024,” says Marina Walsh, CMB, vice president of industry analysis for the MBA, in a statement. “While forbearance is still a viable option for homeowners needing temporary mortgage payment relief, its usage has diminished without a major natural disaster or labor market downturn. Moreover, the performance of servicing portfolios and post-forbearance workouts remains strong, despite some fluctuations from month-to-month.”
By reason, 71.1% of borrowers are in forbearance for reasons such as a temporary hardship caused by job loss, death, divorce, or disability, while 11.5% are still in forbearance because of COVID-19. Another 11.4% are in forbearance because of a natural disaster.
The five states with the highest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio were Washington, Colorado, Oregon, California and Montana.
The five states with the lowest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio were Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Indiana, and New York.
Total completed loan workouts from 2020 and onward (repayment plans, loan deferrals/partial claims, loan modifications) that were current as a percent of total completed workouts were 75.86% in April 2024, up 38 basis points from 75.48% the prior month.
Photo: Mohamed Nohassi
