The Federal Housing Administration on Friday published Mortgagee Letter 2021-18, COVID-19 Recovery Loss Mitigation Options. The ML outlines assistance for homeowners who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to remain in their homes with new, streamlined loss mitigation options.
Category: News and Trends
MBA, Trade Groups Reiterate Opposition to G-Fee Offsets
Fresh off of last week’s regulatory victory in which the Federal Housing Finance Agency withdrew its controversial adverse market refinance fee, the Mortgage Bankers Association and several dozen industry trade groups took fresh aim at another controversial practice—a move in Congress to use the government-sponsored enterprises’ guaranty fees—known as “g-fees”—to offset funding for non-housing programs.
Black Knight: 1.55 Million Serious Delinquencies Nag Market
Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said the national delinquency rate hit its lowest level since the onset of the pandemic in June and is now back below its pre-Great Recession average. Despite the improvement, more than 1.5 million homeowners remain 90 or more days past due on their mortgages but who are not in foreclosure, still nearly four times pre-pandemic levels.
Illinois, Florida, New Jersey Housing Markets Most At-Risk From Pandemic-Related Damage
Housing markets along the East Coast and in Illinois were most vulnerable to damage from the Coronavirus pandemic in the second quarter, reported ATTOM, Irvine, Calif.
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“As is typical for mid-month reporting, forbearance exits slowed, and there was a slight increase in new requests. The net result was a small drop in the share of loans in forbearance – the 21st consecutive week of declines.”
–MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.
Murali Tirupati: How Mortgage Servicers Can Improve Operations with an ‘Automation-First’ Strategy
mortgage servicers are under tremendous pressure to not just onboard loan files faster but do so in compliance with regulatory requirements of CFPB.
Foreclosure Filings at Record Low
ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., reported a record-low 65,082 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in the first six months of 2021, down 61 percent from a year ago and down 78 percent from two years ago.
CMBS Delinquency, Special Servicing Rates Improve
Trepp LLC, New York, reported the commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate declined again in June–but not by much.
MBA CONVERGENCE Takes Big Next Step in Columbus
MBA CONVERGENCE, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s initiative to promote minority homeownership opportunities, launches its second major pilot program July 21 in Columbus, Ohio.
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“Forbearance exits edged up again last week and new forbearance requests dropped to their lowest level since last March, leading to the largest weekly drop in the forbearance share since last October and the 20th consecutive week of declines.” –Mike Fratantoni, MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.