Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for Fifteenth Week in a Row in Week Ending June 6, 2021

The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 12 basis points from 4.16% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 4.04% as of June 6, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate that still 2 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 9 basis points to 2.09%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 32 basis points to 5.22%, while the forbearance shares for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased 2 basis points to 8.33%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 13 basis points to 4.21%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased 14 basis points to 4.19%.

In a statement prepared for the release of this week’s survey Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist said, “…The share of loans in forbearance has now declined for 15 straight weeks, with a larger decline this week as many reached the 15-month mark. Forbearance exits increased — as is typical in the beginning of a month — and reached the fastest pace since April. New forbearance requests, at 4 basis points, remained at an extremely low level.” Fratantoni added, “We are seeing an increase in the share of forbearance exits, where borrowers do not have a loss mitigation plan in place. Homeowners who are reaching the end of their forbearance term need to contact their servicer to discuss the next steps in the process, as servicers cannot extend the forbearance term without talking to the borrower.”