Mortgages In Forbearance Drop Below 7%, But Ginnie Mae Is Up

Mortgages In Forbearance Drop Below 7%, But Ginnie Mae Is Up

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s forbearance numbers reveal an increasingly healthy housing market. There might be some clouds on the horizon.

By mid-September, mortgages in forbearance dipped to 6.93%, the lowest number since the pandemic struck in full force in March. According to MBA’s estimate, 3.5 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.

Ginnie Mae continues to be the exception to the rule among the various mortgage sectors. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased slightly by 3 basis points to 9.15%. It’s the second week for increases.

“The share of loans in forbearance has dropped to its lowest level in five months, driven by a consistent decline in the GSE share in forbearance,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist. “However, not only did the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increase, new requests for forbearance for these loans have increased for two consecutive weeks. While housing market data continue to show a quite strong recovery, the job market recovery appears to have slowed, and we are seeing the impact of this slowdown on FHA and VA borrowers in the Ginnie Mae portfolio.”

The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance dropped for the 15th week in a row to 4.55% – a 10-basis-point improvement. The forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased by 19 basis points to 10.52%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased 7 basis points to 7.26%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 3 basis points to 7.18%.

Key findings of MBA's Forbearance Survey

• Total loans in forbearance decreased by 8 basis points relative to the prior week: from 7.01% to 6.93%. 1. By investor type, the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased relative to the prior week: from 9.12% to 9.15%.

2. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased relative to the prior week: from 4.65% to 4.55%.

3. The share of other loans (e.g., portfolio and PLS loans) in forbearance decreased relative to the prior week: from 10.71% to 10.52%.

• By stage, 31.65% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 67.01% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 1.34% are forbearance re-entries.

• Total weekly forbearance requests as a percent of servicing portfolio volume (#) decreased relative to the prior week: from 0.11% to 0.10%.

• Loans in forbearance as a share of servicing portfolio volume (#) as of Sept. 13, 2020: 1. Total: 6.93% (previous week: 7.01%) 2. IMBs: 7.26% (previous week: 7.33%) 3. Depositories: 7.18% (previous week: 7.21%)

To subscribe to the full report, go to www. mba.org/fbsurvey. If you are a mortgage servicer interested in participating in the survey, email fbsurvey@mba.org.