Mortgage Loans In Forbearance Tick Up Slightly

The Mortgage Banker Association's Forbearance and Call Volume Survey reported a minimal increase of 5.47% to 5.48% in the share of loans now in forbearance. The MBA estimates that a total of 2.7 million homeowners are currently in forbearance plans.

The report stated that the number of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance dropped for the 24th consecutive week to 3.35%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased to 7.73% and the share of private-label securities increased to 8.48%, according to the report. The MBA's report added that the percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank servicers remained stagnant at 5.94%.

"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."

"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," added Fratantoni.

As for servicer call center volume, the report showed no change in the servicing portfolio volume, the average speed to answer decreased from 2.4 minutes to 2.3, abandonment rates are down from 6.3% to 5.4% and average call length decreased slight from 8 minutes to 7.8 minutes.

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