The share of mortgages in forbearance increased to 0.31% in August, up from 0.27% in July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey.
The MBA estimates that 155,000 homeowners were in forbearance plans as of the end of August.
The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance increased 1 basis point to 0.13% in August.
Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased by 10 basis points to 0.66%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 2 basis points to 0.35%.
“For the third consecutive month, the percentage of loans in forbearance increased across all loan types,” says Marina Walsh, vice president of industry analysis for the MBA, in a statement. “By investor type, Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance have increased the most – up 27 basis points since May 2024.
“Forbearance levels are much lower than they were during the first two years of the pandemic,” Walsh adds. “However, a weakening in the performance of servicing portfolios and an increase in forbearance requests are both likely given the softening observed in the labor market.”
Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.2 million borrowers since March 2020.
Photo: Toa Heftiba
