Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases Slightly to 0.47% in December

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 3 basis points from 0.50% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month to 0.47% as of Dec. 31, 2024. According to MBA’s estimate, 235,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans.

ATTOM Reports Foreclosure Activity Declined in 2024

ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., reported foreclosure filings–default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions–were reported on 322,103 U.S. properties in 2024, down 10% from 2023 and down 35% from 2019, before the pandemic shook up the market.

Chart of the Week: Completed Loan Workouts from 2020 Onward

According to the latest results from MBA’s Monthly Loan Monitoring Survey, approximately 235,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans as of December 31, 2024. This level is substantially lower than the peak of almost 4.3 million homeowners in June 2020 and the 8.5 million borrowers who have been provided forbearance since March 2020.

MBA Calls on CFPB to Delay Effective Dates of Registry of Nonbank Covered Persons

In light of President Trump’s “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” executive order issued last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association asked the CFPB to postpone for 60 days the effective compliance dates for entities subject to its Nonbank Registration Regulation issued on June 3, 2024.

Servicing Quote of the Week

“Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.5 million borrowers since March 2020, performing diligently to implement new forbearance and home retention programs from FHA and other federal agencies. We appreciate FHA’s efforts to streamline the loss mitigation process.”
–MBA’s President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, discussing the FHA’s release of its permanent loss mitigation waterfall

FundingShield: Nearly Half of Transactions at Risk

During the fourth quarter, 45.5% of transactions on a $84.1 billion portfolio comprising residential, commercial and business purpose loans had issues leading to a risk of wire & title fraud, according to FundingShield, Newport Beach, Calif.