Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Increases for Third Consecutive Month in August

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey released on Tuesday, the total number of loans in forbearance increased to 0.31% of servicers’ portfolio volume as of August 31st, up from 0.27% in July.

MBA estimates that 155,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.2 million borrowers since March 2020.

In August, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance increased 1 basis point to 0.13%; Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased 10 basis points to 0.66%; and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 2 basis points to 0.35%.

Commenting on the results of the report, MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh said:

“For the third consecutive month, the percentage of loans in forbearance increased across all loan types. By investor type, Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance have increased the most—up 27 basis points since May 2024.

Forbearance levels are much lower than they were during the first two years of the pandemic. However, a weakening in the performance of servicing portfolios and an increase in forbearance requests are both likely given the softening observed in the labor market.”