Forbearance rates decreased by 1 basis point to 3.47% as of July 25, 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey. The MBA estimates 1.74 million homeowners are currently in forbearance plans.
The share of Fannie and Freddie loans in forbearance decreased 2 basis points to 1.79%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 5 basis points to 4.30%. Loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 1 basis point to 3.67%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased 2 basis points to 3.59%.
Compared to the prior week:
– Total loans in forbearance decreased by 1 basis point to 3.47%.
– By investor type, the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased to 4.30%.
– The share of Fannie and Freddie loans in forbearance decreased to 1.79%.
– The share of other loans in forbearance increased to 7.44%.
– By stage, 10% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 82.8% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 7.2% are forbearance re-entries.
The takeaway:
“Forbearance exits remained low, and there was another increase in new forbearance requests, particularly for Ginnie Mae and portfolio and PLS loans. The net result was another slight decline in the share of loans in forbearance,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “While the overall number of loans in forbearance has changed little in recent weeks, forbearance re-entries have increased, reaching 7.2% this week. Recent economic data continue to show improvement, but it’s clear many homeowners in forbearance still need the relief that is being provided.”
