The share of residential mortgages in forbearance decreased to 5.37% of servicers’ portfolio volume as of January 10, down from 5.46% in the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Volume Survey.
Roughly 2.7 million homeowners remain in forbearance plans, the MBA estimates.
The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased to 3.13% – a six-basis-point improvement.
Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 18 basis points to 7.67%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased by nine basis points to 8.68%.
The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 13 basis points from the previous week to 5.79%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased six basis point to 5.33%.
Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist for the MBA, says it was “the largest – and only the second – decrease in the share of loans in forbearance in nine weeks.”
“The rate of exits from forbearance has picked up a bit over the past two weeks but remains much lower than what was seen in October and early November,” Fratantoni says. “Job market data continue to indicate weakness, and that means many homeowners who remain unemployed will need ongoing relief in the form of forbearance. While new forbearance requests remain relatively low, the availability of relief remains a necessary support for many homeowners.”
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