Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for Twelfth Week in a Row in Week Ending May 16, 2021

The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 3 basis points from 4.22% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 4.19% as of May 16, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.1 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased 3 basis points to 2.21%. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 2 basis points to 5.59%, while the forbearance shares for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) remained the same relative to the prior week at 8.26%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 4 basis points to 4.38%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers remained the same at 4.35%. In a prepared statement Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist said, “The share of loans in forbearance declined for the 12th straight week, dropping by 3 basis points. The decline was smaller than the prior week due to a slower pace of forbearance exits. Although the overall share is declining, there was another increase in forbearance re-entries. Currently, 5.3 percent of loans in forbearance are homeowners who had cancelled forbearance but needed assistance again.” Fratantoni added, “The job market is recovering, but the pace of recovery thus far is slower than we had forecasted. Continued job growth is needed to help more struggling homeowners get back on their feet.”