Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Falls for Fifth Straight Week

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey reported loans in forbearance decreased by 38 basis points to 7.80% of mortgage servicers’ portfolio volume as of July 12, from 8.18% the prior week. MBA estimates 3.9 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.

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“Now is the time to scrutinize existing programs to expand those that work and fix or discard those that do not. Now is the time to work together to develop new approaches that leverage technology and creativity to close the minority homeownership and wealth gaps.”
–MBA President and CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB, in a letter to HUD Secretary Ben Carson asking HUD to delay proposed changes to its disparate impact rule.

FHA Proposes Streamlined Single-Family Servicing Policies; CFPB Touts Benefits of Credit Builder Loans

The Federal Housing Administration last week published proposed revisions to its Single-Family servicing policies, designed to remove “unnecessary barriers” for homeowners seeking mortgage payment relief, achieve operational consistency with industry standard best practices and reduce burdens incurred by the industry when servicing an FHA-insured mortgage portfolio.

ATTOM: Foreclosure Filings in 1st Half of 2020 Fall to Record Low

Things are kind of dicey in the housing finance market right now, with the economic impact of the coronavirus spiking unemployment and mortgage forbearance. But ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., says for now there is a silver lining.

MBA Urges House to Support FY2021 T-HUD Priorities

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a July 14 letter to House leadership, urged the House to approve key industry-supported provisions for FHA in the federal government’s fiscal 2021 proposed budget.

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“The share of loans in forbearance continues to decrease, as more workers are brought back from temporary layoffs. However, our survey reveals a notable shift in the location of many FHA and VA loans, which have been bought out of Ginnie Mae pools – predominantly by bank servicers – and moved onto bank balance sheets. As a result, there was a sharp drop in the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance.”
–Mike Fratantoni, MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.