FHFA: More Than 6.7M Troubled Homeowners Helped During Conservatorships
(Courtesy FHFA)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 58,268 foreclosure prevention actions in the first quarter, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported.
This action raises the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 6.77 million since the September 2008 start of conservatorships, FHFA said in its First Quarter 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report.
The report noted 35 percent of loan modifications completed in the first quarter reduced borrowers’ monthly payments by more than 20 percent. The number of refinances decreased amid rising mortgage rates from 111,251 in the fourth quarter to 78,445 in the first quarter of 2023.
The Enterprises’ serious delinquency rate declined slightly from 0.65 percent to 0.60 percent at the end of the first quarter. This compares with 4.01 percent for Federal Housing Administration loans, 2.26 percent for Veterans Affairs loans and 1.73 percent for all loans (industry average).
Other highlights from the report include:
Forbearance: As of March 31, 2023, there were 65,757 loans in forbearance, representing approximately 0.21 percent of the Enterprises’ single-family conventional book of business, down from 81,173 or 0.26 percent at the end of the fourth quarter. Approximately 3 percent of these loans have been on a forbearance plan for more than 12 months.
Mortgage Performance: The 60-plus day delinquency rate decreased slightly from 0.84 percent at the end of the fourth quarter to 0.75 percent at the end of the first quarter.
Foreclosures: The number of foreclosure starts increased 6 percent to 19,809 while third-party and foreclosure sales rose 12 percent to 3,700 in the first quarter.
Real Estate Owned (REO) Activity & Inventory: The Enterprises’ REO inventory increased 2 percent from 10,997 in the fourth quarter to 11,190 in the first quarter of 2023, as REO acquisitions outpaced property dispositions. The total number of property acquisitions decreased slightly to 1,692, while dispositions rose 56 percent to 1,529 during the quarter. FHFA’s quarterly foreclosure prevention and refinance reports include data on the Enterprises’ mortgage performance, delinquencies and active forbearance plans, as well as forfeiture actions and refinances by state. The data included in these reports are also available on FHFA’s website as an interactive Borrower Assistance Map.
