HOPE NOW has released its May 2013 loan modification data, which found that an estimated 74,000 homeowners received permanent, affordable loan modifications from mortgage servicers during the month of May. This total includes modifications completed under both proprietary programs and the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The May 2013 total of approximately 74,000 loan modifications brings the total number of permanent loan modifications to 6.47 million.
Since 2007:
►Approximately 5.26 million homeowners have received proprietary loan modifications.
►1,206,176 homeowners have received HAMP modifications (Note: HAMP reporting began in 2009).
For the month of May 2013:
►An estimated 58,000 homeowners received proprietary loan modifications.
►15,571 homeowners received HAMP modifications (as reported by United States Department of Treasury).
In the month of May 2013, there were approximately 48,000 foreclosure sales completed, compared to 59,000 completed in April—a decrease of 18.7 percent. Foreclosure starts declined as well, with approximately 115,000 recorded in May compared to almost 118,000 in the month of April—a decrease of 2.5 percent.
“The combination of permanent loan modifications and short sales outpaced foreclosure sales significantly in the month of May," said Eric Selk, executive director of HOPE NOW. "This is a good trend as we see positive steps being made in the recovery of the housing market each month. Mortgage servicers continue to improve their processes and offer more options to at-risk homeowners than ever before, and the results are evident."
Short sales for May were approximately 28,000—a slight increase from April’s total of around 27,000. Since HOPE NOW began tracking short sale data in 2009, approximately 1.29 million short sales have been completed. Delinquencies of 60 days or more were at 2.22 million for the month of May, compared to 2.17 million in April—an increase of around three percent. Delinquency data is extrapolated from data received by the Mortgage Bankers Association for the first quarter of 2013.
Loan modifications completed via proprietary programs once again showed characteristics of sustainability and affordability for homeowners. It is important to note that the majority of these loans included both fixed interest rates and reduced principal/interest monthly payments. For the month of May:
►Proprietary loan modifications that included fixed interest rates of five years or more accounted for 97 percent (56,000) of the total.
►Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest monthly payments accounted for 84 percent (49,000) of the total.
►Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest payments of more than 10 percent accounted for 80 percent (46,000) of the total.
