Shares of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Declined Further in May

According to the new monthly Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Loan Monitoring Survey (LMS), the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased 2 basis points from 0.51% of servicers’ portfolio volume in April to 0.49% as of May 31st. The MBA estimates that 245,000 homeowners remain in forbearance plans. The MBA notes that mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 7.9 million borrowers since March 2020.

In May, the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 1 basis point to 0.23%; Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased by 5 basis points to 1.06%; and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) declined 3 basis points to 0.58%.

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

“The number of loans in forbearance is reaching levels not seen since the beginning of March 2020, prior to the passage of the Cares Act. Today, more than 96 percent of homeowners are current on their mortgages, thanks to the favorable jobs market and the success of the loss mitigation options over the past three years.”