The Mortgage Bankers Association's Forbearance and Call Volume Survey reported a decline in the share of mortgage loans in forbearance, as servicers' portfolio volume fell from 6.81% to 6.32% for the week ending Oct. 04, 2020.
According to the survey, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance saw a decline for the 18th straight week, falling to 4.03%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 89 basis points to 8.27%, the private-label securities share decreased by 33 basis points to 10.06%, the depository servicers share decreased 50 basis points to 6.53% and the percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank servicers decreased 54 basis points to 6,65%.
"The share of loans in forbearance declined across all loan types. With the forbearance program for federally backed loans under the CARES Act reaching the six-month mark, many borrowers saw their forbearance plans expire because they did not contact their servicer. Another reason for expirations was that borrower information needed to determine an appropriate loss mitigation option was not yet in place," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's senior vice president and chief economist. "Borrowers with federally backed mortgages need to contact their servicer to obtain another six months of reprieve if they are still impacted by the pandemic. As of now, some borrowers are exiting forbearance without making contact or without a plan in place. Servicers are making outreach efforts to attempt to work with these borrowers to determine the best options for them, including an extension."
"On a more positive note, nearly two-thirds of borrowers who exited forbearance remained current on their payments, repaid their forborne payments, or moved into a payment deferral plan. All of these borrowers have been able to resume - or continue - their pre-pandemic monthly payments."
Additionally, the survey reported that call center volume increased from 6.8% to 8.8%, average speed to answer increased from 2.3 minutes to 2.9 minutes, abandonment rates increased from 5.3% to 6.7% and average call length increased slightly from 7.6 minutes to 7.8 minutes.
Read more from the MBA's Forbearance and Call Volume Survey.
