Forbearances Fall By Nearly 3 Percent

The MBA estimates there are a total of 1.4 million homeowners currently in forbearance plans as of the week ending Sept. 26, 2021. The number of forbearances are likely to decline considerably with many homeowners facing the 18-month expiration period of their terms.

The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 6 basis points to 1.38%, according to the report. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 7 basis points to 3.35%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased 14 basis points to 6.77%.

The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 5 basis points relative to the prior week to 3.19%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased 13 basis points to 2.93%.  

“The share of loans in forbearance declined at a faster rate last week, dropping by 7 basis points, as exits increased and new requests and re-entries declined,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's senior vice president and chief economist. “While 1.4 million homeowners remained in forbearance as of September 26th, this number is expected to drop sharply over the next few weeks as many are reaching the 18-month expiration point of their forbearance terms. Most borrowers exiting forbearance through a workout are opting for a deferral plan, which allows them to resume their original payment while moving the forborne amount to the end of the loan.”   

“Although call volume dropped in the last week of September, we expect that servicers will be very busy through October,” added Fratantoni.

Call volume retreated from 7.9% to 5.9%, according to the MBA.