“While the number of forbearance requests grew in January, the number of forbearance exits outweighed that pick-up, reaching the highest level since June 2022.”
–Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis
Category: News and Trends
Redfin: Combined Value of U.S. Homes Climbed to $49.7 Trillion
Redfin, Seattle, reported the combined value of U.S. homes increased $2.5 trillion in 2024 to hit $49.7 trillion.
MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 0.40% in January
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 7 basis points from 0.47% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month to 0.40% as of January 31, 2025. According to MBA’s estimate, 200,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans.
Zombie Foreclosures Still Quite Low in Q1
ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., released its first-quarter 2025 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, finding that 1.4 million residential homes in the U.S. are vacant.
Achieve Survey: Americans’ Financial Trends Stable, but Challenges Remain
Achieve, San Mateo, Calif., released its quarterly debt survey, finding that 26% of households report accruing more debt over the past quarter. However, that’s down from the 28% that said the same in Q4 2024.
MBA Chart of the Week: CRE Loan Maturity Volumes
Twenty percent ($957 billion) of $4.8 trillion of outstanding commercial mortgages held by lenders and investors will mature in 2025, a 3% increase from the $929 billion that matured in 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 2024 Commercial Real Estate Survey of Loan Maturity Volumes.
ICE: Foreclosure Starts Jump in January
Intercontinental Exchange Inc., released its “first look” at January mortgage performance, finding that foreclosure starts jumped by 30% and foreclosure sales rose by 25%.
2025’s Survival Strategy? Building a QC-Centric Culture (Sponsored by ACES Quality Management)
As the mortgage industry braces for changes, proactive QC programs are essential to ensure compliance, trust and resilience.
Servicing Quote of the Week
“The drop in the overall critical defect rate this quarter is a welcome shift, but the underlying trends tell a more complex story. The sharp rise in insurance defects, combined with fluctuations in key underwriting categories, reinforces the need for lenders to stay agile in their quality control efforts.”
–Nick Volpe, Executive Vice President of ACES Quality Management
ACES: Q3 2024 Critical Defect Rate Falls
ACES Quality Management, Denver, released its Q3 Mortgage QC Trends Report, finding the overall critical defect rate declined from the second quarter by 17%. The overall rate ended the quarter at 1.51%.