HOPE NOW: 117,000 Mortgage Assistance Actions in April
HOPE NOW reported its members provided homeowners with 117,000 mortgage assistance actions to homeowners in April, including loan modifications, short sales, deeds in lieu and workout plans.
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 that figure compared to 28,000 foreclosure sales.
The April figure includes 31,000 permanent loan modifications under proprietary programs (22,000) and the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (8,500). Since 2007, HOPE NOW said its members have provided more than 25 million non-foreclosure assistance measures and 7.9 million permanent loan modifications.
Other key metrics from March to April:
–Loan Modifications: 31,000 completed in April vs. 32,000 in March, a decrease of 4 percent.
–Short sales: 6,300 completed in April vs. 7,500 in March, a decrease of 15 percent.
–Deed in-lieu: 1,700 completed in April vs. 2,000 in March, a decrease of 18 percent.
–Foreclosure starts: 50,000 in April vs. 59,000 in March, a decrease of 16 percent.
–Foreclosure sales: 28,000 in April vs. 29,000 in March, a decrease of 6 percent.
–Serious delinquencies: 1.64 million in April vs. 1.65 million in March, a slight decrease of 1 percent. Delinquency data are extrapolated from data received by the Mortgage Bankers Association for the first quarter.
The full data set for April 2016 is available at www.hopenow.com.
HOPE NOW Executive Director Eric Selk noted permanent loan modifications continue to outpace foreclosure sales. “The tools available assist homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage and prevent a foreclosure from occurring,” he said “It is critical that these efforts continue and that early intervention ensues before the homeowner becomes severely delinquent…early intervention is assisting with market recovery, as serious delinquency numbers continue to decline.”
