by Calculated Risk on 10/21/2024 04:51:00 PM

From the MBA: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Increases to 0.34% in September

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance increased to 0.34% as of September 30, 2024. According to MBA’s estimate, 170,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.3 million borrowers since March 2020.

The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained the same as the previous month at 0.13% in September 2024. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased by 10 basis points to 0.76%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 2 basis points to 0.37%.

“The percentage of loans in forbearance increased for the fourth consecutive month,” said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. “Since May 2024, Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased by almost 40 basis points, compared to six basis points for portfolio and PLS loans and three basis points for Fannie and Freddie loans.”

Added Walsh, “We are seeing some weakening in loan performance, particularly among government products. Overall government loan performance reached a new low for the year in September. In addition, the share of government post-forbearance workouts that are current dropped considerably over the past four months. These trends indicate that some homeowners are exhibiting signs of distress – whether because of economic hardships, natural disasters, or other reasons.”
emphasis added

At the end of August, there were about 170,000 homeowners in forbearance plans.