Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Remains Flat at 0.70% in December

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed the total number of loans now in forbearance remained flat relative to the prior month at 0.70% as of December 31, 2022.

According to MBA’s estimate, 350,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans.

The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 1 basis point to 0.31%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 1 basis point to 1.45%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities increased 3 basis points to 1.00%.

“For three consecutive months, the forbearance rate has remained flat–an indicator that we may have reached a floor on further improvements,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis. “New forbearance requests and re-entries continue to trickle in at about the same pace as forbearance exits. The overall performance of servicing portfolios was also flat compared to the previous month, but there was some deterioration in the performance of Ginnie Mae loans.”

Walsh noted forbearance remains an option for struggling homeowners and its usage may continue, “especially if unemployment increases as expected. MBA is forecasting for the unemployment rate to reach 5.2 percent in the second half of 2023, up from its current level of 3.5 percent,” she said.

Key Findings of MBA’s Loan Monitoring Survey – December 1 to December 31, 2022

• Total loans in forbearance remained the same in December 2022 relative to the previous two months – October 2022 and November 2022 – at 0.70%.
  • By investor type, the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month: from 1.46% to 1.45%.
  • The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month: from 0.32% to 0.31%.
  • The share of other loans (e.g., portfolio and PLS loans) in forbearance increased relative to the prior month: from 0.97% to 1.00%.
• Loans in forbearance as a share of servicing portfolio volume (#) as of December 31, 2022:
  • Total: 0.70% (previous month: 0.70%)
  • Independent Mortgage Banks (IMBs): 0.97% (previous month: 0.95%)
  • Depositories: 0.44% (previous month: 0.46%)
• By stage, 37.9% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 49.3% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 12.8% are forbearance re-entries, including re-entries with extensions.
• Of the cumulative forbearance exits for the period from June 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022, at the time of forbearance exit:
  • 29.6% resulted in a loan deferral/partial claim.
  • 18.1% represented borrowers who continued to make their monthly payments during their forbearance period.
  • 17.4% represented borrowers who did not make all of their monthly payments and exited forbearance without a loss mitigation plan in place yet.
  • 16.0% resulted in a loan modification or trial loan modification.
  • 10.9% resulted in reinstatements, in which past-due amounts are paid back when exiting forbearance.
  • 6.6% resulted in loans paid off through either a refinance or by selling the home.
  • The remaining 1.3% resulted in repayment plans, short sales, deed-in-lieus or other reasons.
• Total loans serviced that were current (not delinquent or in foreclosure) as a percent of servicing portfolio volume (#) remained flat in December 2022 relative to November 2022 at 95.69% (on a non-seasonally adjusted basis).
  • The five states with the highest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, and Oregon.
  • The five states with the lowest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, Indiana, and New York.
  • The share of loans that were current declined in 31 states compared to the previous month.
• Total completed loan workouts from 2020 and onward (repayment plans, loan deferrals/partial claims, loan modifications) that were current as a percent of total completed workouts decreased to 75.92% in December from 76.89% the previous month.

MBA’s monthly Loan Monitoring Survey (replaced MBA’s Weekly Forbearance and Call Volume Survey in November 2021) covers the period from December 1 through December 31, 2022, and represents 66% of the first-mortgage servicing market (33.1 million loans). To subscribe to the full report, go to www.mba.org/loanmonitoring.

NOTES: For more detailed information on performance metrics, including seasonally adjusted delinquency rates by stage (30 days, 60 days, 90+ days), please refer to MBA’s Quarterly National Delinquency Survey at www.mba.org/nds. Fourth-quarter 2022 results will be released on Thursday, February 16, 2023.

The next publication of the Monthly Loan Monitoring Survey will be released on Monday, February 20, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. ET. 

For more information on COVID-19 mortgage forbearance and eligibility, please click here.