Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for Eighth Straight Week in Week Ending April 18, 2021

The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 1 basis point from 4.50% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 4.49% as of April 18, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.25 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained the same relative to the prior week at 2.44%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 7 basis points to 6.09%, while the forbearance shares for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased by 8 basis points to 8.42%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers remained the same relative to the prior week at 4.72%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers declined 3 basis points to 4.64%. Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist in a prepared statement said, “After two weeks of large declines, the share of loans in forbearance decreased for the eighth straight week, but by only 1 basis point. New forbearance requests increased, and the rate of exits declined. More than 40 percent of borrowers in forbearance extensions have now exceeded the 12-month mark.”