Mortgages in Forbearance Drops to 2-Month Low

According to a report released by Black Knight, a provider of integrated data and analytics for the mortgage and home equity lending service, there were 4.14 million mortgages in forbearance for the week ending July 10th. The number dropped by 435,000 from last week – the largest decline of the pandemic and a two-month low. When measured as a share of all mortgages, the forbearance rated declined to 7.8% from 8.6% the week before. Andy Walden, an economist and director of market research for Black Knight in prepared remarks said, Recent spikes in COVID-19 around much of the country and the scheduled expiration of expanded unemployment benefits both represent significant uncertainty for the weeks ahead.” As a point of reference about 6% of mortgages backed by Fannie ae and Freddie Mac are now in forbearance, down from 6.8% last week. About 11.6% of home loans back by the Federal Housing Administration and the Veterans Administration have suspended payments, down from 12.3% last week.