Mortgage forbearances decreased by 14 basis points from 3.40% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 3.26% as of Aug. 8, 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey. That leaves an estimated 1.6 million homeowners in forbearance plans.
By the numbers:
– Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac forbearance rates down 5 basis points to 1.69%
– Ginnie Mae loans down 23 basis points to 3.95%
– Portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased 32 basis points to 7.05%
– Independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 17 basis points to 3.46%
– Depository servicers in forbearance decreased 13 basis points to 3.36%
The takeaway:
This is the largest decline in a month, according to MBA, which attributes the dip to homeowners nearing the end of their forbearance terms.
“The forbearance share declined for all investor and servicer categories,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “New forbearance requests picked up slightly this week, particularly for Ginnie Mae loans, but overall trends remain positive. Incoming data continues to support our forecast of an improving job market in the months ahead.”
