The total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 1 basis point to 3.25% as of Aug. 15, 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey. MBA estimates there are currently 1.6 million homeowners in forbearance plans.
Share of forbearances by loan type:
– Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 3 basis points to 1.66%
– Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 3 basis points to 3.92%
– Portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 10 basis points to 7.15%
– Independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers increased 2 basis points to 3.48%
– Depository servicers decreased 1 basis point to 3.35%
The takeaway:
All around, exits and starts have slowed, and most loans in forbearance (82.3%) are in an extension stage. Only 10% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial plan stage.
“The share of loans in forbearance was little changed, as both new requests and exits were at a slower pace compared to the prior week. In fact, exits were at their slowest pace in over a year,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “There were more new forbearance requests and re-entries for portfolio and PLS loans, leading to a 10-basis-point increase in their share. Portfolio and PLS loans now account for almost 50% of all depository servicer loans in forbearance and almost 40% of IMB servicer loans in forbearance, which highlights the importance of this investor category.”
