HOPE NOW: 119K Mortgage Mods in August

HOPE NOW reported its members provided nearly 119,000 mortgage modification actions in August, including loan modifications, short sales, deeds in lieu and workout plans, a 6 percent increase from July.

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 the total included 36,000 permanent loan modifications completed under both proprietary programs (25,000) and the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program. Of the permanent loan modifications completed in the month of August, an estimated 25,000 were through proprietary programs and 10,610 were completed via HAMP.

However, the report noted increases in loan modifications, short sales, foreclosure starts and foreclosure sales, while reporting a decrease in serious delinquencies.

HOPE NOW said total permanent modifications completed reached 8 million in August. HOPE NOW began tracking modification data in 2007. Of these modifications, 6.4 million have been proprietary modifications, with 1.644 million completed through HAMP.

“The housing market continues to normalize and move towards pre-crisis levels,” said Eric Selk, executive director of HOPE NOW. “We are extremely pleased to see the industry remain committed to preserving homeownership and helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. The mortgage industry hit a momentous milestone in August. 8 million permanent modifications have been reached since 2007. This is a huge accomplishment by the industry and illustrates the continued work that mortgage servicers are doing to assist those in need.”

Selk added that as permanent modifications remain steady, homeowners are also receiving more “upstream solutions,” such as repayment plans and other retentions options offered to those with short-term delinquency issues. “Serious delinquency still affects more than 1.5 million borrowers–something that everyone should be paying attention to–although this number is close to pre-crisis figures.”

Other key report month by month metrics:

–Loan Modifications: 36,000 completed in August vs. 35,000 in July, an increase of 3%.

–Short sales: 5,800 completed in August vs. 5,700 in July, an increase of 2%.

–Deed in-lieu: 1,600 completed in August vs. 1,400 in July, an increase of 14%.

–Foreclosure starts: 58,000 in August vs. 51,000 in July, an increase of 12%.

–Foreclosure sales: 26,000 in August vs. 25,000 in July, an increase of 1%.

–Serious delinquencies: 1.51 million in August vs. 1.57 million in July, a decrease of 4%.

From Year ago:

–Loan Modifications: 36,000 completed in August vs. 32,000 in August 2015, an increase of 11%.

–Short sales: 5,800 completed in August vs. 6,600 in August 2015, a decrease of 12%.

–Deed in-lieu: 1,600 completed in August vs. 1,500 in August 2015, an increase of 10%.

–Foreclosure starts: 58,000 in August vs. 54,000 in August 2015, an increase of 8%.

–Foreclosure sales: 26,000 in August vs. 25,000 in August 2015, an increase of 2%.

–Serious delinquencies: 1.51 million in August vs. 1.65 million in August 2015, a decrease of 9%.

The full data set for August 2016 is available at www.hopenow.com.