The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance increased from 5.47 percent of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.48 percent as of Nov. 15, 2020. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.7 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance dropped for the 24th week in a row to 3.35 percent—a 1 basis-point improvement. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased 3 basis points to 7.73 percent, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased by 10 basis points to 8.48 percent. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers remained the same as the previous week at 5.94 percent, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers increased 1 basis point from the previous week to 5.44 percent.
“A marked slowdown in forbearance exits, as well as a slight rise in the share of Ginnie Mae, portfolio, and PLS loans in forbearance, led to an overall increase for the first time since early June. The decline in exits in the prior week follows a flurry of them last month, when many borrowers reached the six-month point in their forbearance terms,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “The share of GSE loans in forbearance continued its downward trend and have now declined every week for six straight months.”
Added Fratantoni, “Incoming housing market data remain quite strong, with existing-home sales in October reaching their fastest pace since 2005, and the inventory of homes on the market hitting a record low. However, renewed weakness in the latest job market data indicate that many homeowners are continuing to experience severe hardships due to the pandemic and still need the support that forbearance provides.”
Source: MBA
