As of June 28, the share of mortgages in COVID-19-related forbearance plans decreased to 8.39% of all loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
That’s a decrease of eight basis points from 8.47% the previous week.
Nearly 4.2 million homeowners are currently in forbearance plans, according to the MBA’s Forbearance and Call Volume Survey.
Ginnie Mae loans continued to represent the highest share of loans in forbearance at 11.72%, a decrease of 11 basis points from the previous week.
The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance dropped for a fourth week in a row to 6.17%, a nine-basis-point improvement.
The forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased by one basis point to 10.08%.
The percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers dropped to 9.03%, while the percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased to 8.33%.
“We learned last week that the job market improved more than expected in June,” says Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “With that as background, it is not surprising that the forbearance numbers continue to improve as more people go back to their jobs.
“The decrease in new forbearance requests indicates that further declines are likely in the weeks ahead,” Fratantoni adds. “Looking at the mix of loans that are exiting forbearance, we are seeing a higher share exiting into deferral options and modifications, and somewhat fewer simply opting out of a forbearance plan.”
