Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 3.26%

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey reported loans now in forbearance decreased by 14 basis points to 3.26% of servicers’ portfolio volume as of August 8 from 3.40% the previous week. MBA now estimates 1.6 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.

The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 5 basis points to 1.69%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 23 basis points to 3.95%, while the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities decreased 32 basis points to 7.05%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank servicers decreased 17 basis points to 3.46%, while the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased 13 basis points to 3.36%.

“The largest decrease in a month in the share of loans in forbearance came from a jump in forbearance exits, as many homeowners are nearing the end of their forbearance terms. The forbearance share declined for all investor and servicer categories,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “New forbearance requests picked up slightly this week, particularly for Ginnie Mae loans, but overall trends remain positive. Incoming data continues to support our forecast of an improving job market in the months ahead.”

Key findings of MBA’s Forbearance and Call Volume Survey – August 2 – 8

• Total loans in forbearance decreased by 14 basis points from 3.40% to 3.26%.
  • By investor type, the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 4.18% to 3.95%.
  • The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 1.74% to 1.69%.
  • The share of other loans (e.g., portfolio and PLS loans) in forbearance decreased from 7.37% to 7.05%.
• By stage, 9.7% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 82.8% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 7.5% are forbearance re-entries.

• Total weekly forbearance requests as a percent of servicing portfolio volume (#) increased from 0.04% to 0.06%.
• Of the cumulative forbearance exits for the period from June 1, 2020, through August 8, 2021:
  • 28.2% resulted in a loan deferral/partial claim.
  • 22.7% represented borrowers who continued to make their monthly payments during their forbearance period.
  • 16.1% represented borrowers who did not make all of their monthly payments and exited forbearance without a loss mitigation plan in place yet.
  • 13.2% resulted in reinstatements, in which past-due amounts are paid back when exiting forbearance.
  • 11.0% resulted in a loan modification or trial loan modification.
  • 7.4% resulted in loans paid off through either a refinance or by selling the home.
  • The remaining 1.4% resulted in repayment plans, short sales, deed-in-lieus or other reasons.
• Weekly servicer call center volume:
  • As a percent of servicing portfolio volume (#), calls increased from 6.8% to 7.5%.
  • Average speed to answer increased from 0.9 minutes to 1.5 minutes.
  • Abandonment rates increased from 3.6% to 5.0%.
  • Average call length decreased from 7.9 minutes to 7.5 minutes.
• Loans in forbearance as a share of servicing portfolio volume (#) as of August 8:
  • Total: 3.26% (previous week: 3.40%)
  • IMBs: 3.46% (previous week: 3.63%)
  • Depositories: 3.36% (previous week: 3.49%)

MBA’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey represents 74% of the first-mortgage servicing market (36.9 million loans). To subscribe to the full report, go to www.mba.org/fbsurvey.

If you are a mortgage servicer interested in participating in the survey, email fbsurvey@mba.org.