HOPE NOW: 109K October Mortgage Actions

HOPE NOW said its members provided 109,000 mortgage assistance actions in October, down slightly from September.  

HOPE NOW, a voluntary, private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and non-profit counselors of which the Mortgage Bankers Association is a founding member, said total mortgage assistance actions remained steady and continued to outpace completed foreclosure sales by a four-to-one margin.  

The report said loan modifications, short sales, deeds in lieu and workout plans in October totaled 109,000, compared to an estimated 26,000 foreclosure sales. This included an estimated 30,000 permanent loan modifications under both proprietary programs (22,000) and the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (7,780).  

“Sustainability is the key as the housing market continues to improve across the nation,” said HOPE NOW Executive Director Eric Selk. “We are pleased to see that total solutions are still significantly outpacing foreclosure sales on a consistent basis. We are close to pre-crisis levels and that is good news.”  

Key Metrics: October vs. September

–Loan Modifications: 30,000 completed in October vs. 32,000 in September, a decrease of 6 percent.

–Short sales: 6,600 completed in October vs. 6,400 in September, an increase of 3 percent.

–Deed in-lieu: 1,500 completed in October vs. 1,500 in September, unchanged.

–Foreclosure starts: 57,000 in October vs. 54,000 in September, an increase of 6 percent.

–Foreclosure sales: 26,000 in October vs. 25,000 in September, an increase of 4 percent.

–Serious delinquencies: 1.67 million in October vs. 1.66 million in September, unchanged.  

October vs. a Year Ago

–Loan Modifications: 30,000 completed in October vs. 39,000 in October 2014, a decrease of 23 percent.

–Short sales: 6,600 completed in October vs. 10,400 in October 2014, a decrease of 37 percent.

–Deed in-lieu: 1,500 completed in October vs. 2,300 in October 2014, a decrease of 35 percent.

–Foreclosure starts: 57,000 in October vs. 65,000 in October 2014, a decrease of 13 percent.

–Foreclosure sales: 26,000 in October vs. 39,000 in October 2014, a decrease of 33 percent.

–Serious delinquencies: 1.67 million in October vs. 1.91 million in October 2014, a decrease of 13 percent.  

The full data set for October is available at www.hopenow.com.    

Selk said looking at 2016, “we are identifying markets that still need assistance and planning accordingly with our industry members and other partners. We expect a robust combination of loss mitigation events, first time home buyer fairs and community housing roundtables to take place in several selected markets for next year.”