The Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Drops to 5.67% in Weekending November 1st, 2020

The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 16 basis points from 5.83% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.67% as of November 1, 2020. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.8 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance dropped for the 22nd week in a row to 3.49% – a 17-basis-point improvement. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased 18 basis points to 7.95%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased by 12 basis points to 8.70%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 8 basis points to 6.19%, while the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased 26 basis points from the previous week to 5.60%. Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist in a prepared statement said, “With declines in the share of loans in forbearance across the board, the data this week align well with the positive news from October’s jobs report, which showed a gain of more than 900,000 private sector jobs, and a 1% point decrease in the unemployment rate. A recovering job market, coupled with a strong housing market, is providing the support needed for many homeowners to get back on their feet.”