Mortgages in Forbearance Increase in Week Ending December 24th, 2020 but Remain at 5.3% of all Loans

According to Black Knight, one of the premier providers of integrated technology, data and analytics solutions for lenders and financial businesses, the number of mortgages in active forbearance rose by 20,000 in the week ending on Thursday, December 24^th. Although the numbers are up the overall active forbearance rate remained at 5.3%, which is unchanged from last week’s report. As we enter into the last week of the year, Black Knight estimates that 2.8 million homeowners are in forbearance – accounting for $565 billion in unpaid principle. Last week’s increased was largely driven by the share of loans in forbearance rising from 5.2% to 5.3% (17,000 overall) in private label securities or bank portfolios. The Federal Housing Administration and Veterans administration also so an increase last week from 9.4% to 9.5%, (approximately 10,000).