FHFA: GSEs Assist 4.3 Million Homeowners Since Conservatorships
The Federal Housing Finance Agency yesterday reported Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 41,062 foreclosure prevention actions in the fourth quarter, bringing the total number of foreclosure prevention actions to 4.283 million since September 2008.
The FHFA fourth quarter 2018 Foreclosure Prevention Report also reported the GSEs’ serious delinquency rate dropped to 0.73 percent at the end of the fourth quarter. The GSEs’ real Estate Owned (REO) inventory declined by 3 percent in the fourth quarter to 26,485 as property dispositions continued to outpace REO acquisitions.
The report said 35 percent of loan modifications completed in the fourth quarter reduced borrowers’ monthly payments by more than 20 percent.
Other report findings:
–FHFA said of the 4.283 million foreclosure prevention actions since the conservatorships began in September 2008, 3.591 million helped troubled homeowners stay in their homes, including 2.314 million permanent loan modifications.
Fourth Quarter 2018 Highlights
–Twenty-eight percent of modifications in the fourth quarter were modifications with principal forbearance. Modifications with extend-term only accounted for 65 percent of all loan modifications during the quarter.
–FHFA reported 1,781 completed short sales and deeds-in-lieu during the quarter, bringing the total to 691,851 since the conservatorships began.
–The percentage of 60+ days delinquent loans dropped from 1.13 percent at the end of the third quarter to 1.08 percent at the end of the fourth quarter.
–The GSEs’ serious (90 days or more) delinquency rate decreased to 0.73 percent at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 3.8 percent for Federal Housing Administration loans, 2.0 percent for Veterans Affairs loans and 2.1 percent for all loans (industry average).
–Foreclosure starts increased by 11 percent to 36,002, while third-party and foreclosure sales decreased by 8 percent to 11,510 in the fourth quarter.
The report can be found at https://www.fhfa.gov/AboutUs/Reports/ReportDocuments/FPR_4Q2018.pdf.
