MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 0.29% in October

(Image courtesy of MBA)

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 2 basis points from 0.31% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month to 0.29% as of Oct. 31, 2023.

According to MBA’s estimate, 145,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8 million borrowers since March 2020.

In October 2023, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained flat at 0.18%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 5 basis points to 0.52%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased 3 basis points to 0.32%.

“For the first time since MBA began tracking the reasons for forbearance in October 2022, temporary hardships such as job loss, death, and divorce represent a larger share of loans in forbearance by reason than a COVID-19 hardship,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “This upward trend will continue, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sunset the use of COVID-19 as a reason for delinquency starting in November 2023 and FHA’s COVID-19 forbearance period ends at the end of November 2023.”

Added Walsh, “Forbearance is still an option for many distressed homeowners, but in most cases, the requirements to obtain a forbearance will not be as streamlined as they were during the pandemic.”

Key Findings of MBA’s Loan Monitoring Survey – Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, 2023

Total loans in forbearance decreased by 2 basis points in October 2023 relative to September 2023: from 0.31% to 0.29%.
• By investor type, the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month: from 0.57% to 0.52%.
• The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained the same relative to the prior month at 0.18%.
• The share of other loans (e.g., portfolio and PLS loans) in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month: from 0.35% to 0.32%.

Loans in forbearance as a share of servicing portfolio volume (#) as of October 31, 2023:
• Total: 0.29% (previous month: 0.31%)
• Independent Mortgage Banks (IMBs): 0.36% (previous month: 0.37%)
• Depositories: 0.23% (previous month: 0.25%)

By reason, 45.4% of borrowers are in forbearance for reasons such as a temporary hardship caused by job loss, death, divorce, or disability; while 43.3% of borrowers are in forbearance because of COVID-19. Another 11.3% are in forbearance because of a natural disaster.

By stage, 45.1% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 47.0% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 7.9% are forbearance re-entries, including re-entries with extensions.

Of the cumulative forbearance exits for the period from July 1, 2020, through October 31, 2023, at the time of forbearance exit:
• 29.4% resulted in a loan deferral/partial claim.
• 17.7% represented borrowers who continued to make their monthly payments during their forbearance period.
• 18.3% represented borrowers who did not make all of their monthly payments and exited forbearance without a loss mitigation plan in place yet.
• 16.1% resulted in a loan modification or trial loan modification.
• 10.8% resulted in reinstatements, in which past-due amounts are paid back when exiting forbearance.
• 6.5% resulted in loans paid off through either a refinance or by selling the home.
• The remaining 1.2% 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 (#) decreased to 95.80% (on a non-seasonally adjusted basis) in October 2023 from 95.83% in September 2023.
• The five states with the highest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Washington, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and California.
• The five states with the lowest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, West Virginia, and New York.

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 increased to 72.30% in October from 72.20% 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 October 1 through October 31, 2023, and represents 65% of the first-mortgage servicing market (32.3 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. Third-quarter 2023 results were released on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.

The next publication of the Monthly Loan Monitoring Survey (LMS) will be released on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. ET.