Mature Forbearances Grow As Policy Relief Soon Expires

According to most recent Mortgage Banker Association (MBA) forbearance data, over 950 thousand homeowners have been extending forbearances for at least 1 year. 

Overall forbearance volume fell 2 basis points to 4.19% of all mortgages, which equates to 2.1 million borrowers still in forbearance. This marks the 14th consecutive week of decline in overall forbearance volume. Of the borrowers still in forbearance, about 83% have forbearance extensions and nearly 6% re-entered forbearance after previously exiting. There are approximately 1,747,410 borrowers in forbearance extensions and 119,280 borrowers re-entering forbearance as of May 31. 

Additionally, 953,736 homeowners have been extending their forbearance for at least 1 year, based on the MBA’s forbearance data through May 30.

The bottom line is that forbearances are still decreasing, but at a slow pace. Although exits of forbearance remain steady, so does re-entry. There is an axiom that states the longer a borrower is in forbearance, the harder it is for the borrower to get out of forbearance. As the group of borrowers with maturing forbearances grows, it will be much harder to exit before policy relief expires. 

Click the link to read the full analysis of MBA's forbearance data.