Share of US Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Increases for Fourth Consecutive Month in September

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Loan Monitoring Survey released on Tuesday, the total number of loans in forbearance as of September 30th increased to 0.34% of servicers’ portfolio volume, up from 0.31% in August.

MBA estimates that 170,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 8.3 million borrowers since March 2020.

In September, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained unchanged at 0.13%; Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased 10 basis points to 0.76%; and the share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 2 basis points to 0.37%.

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

“The percentage of loans in forbearance increased for the fourth consecutive month. 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.”