Forbearances Continue Lower, Led By Non-Agency Loans

By: Matthew Graham •

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its monthly update on the share of mortgages in forbearance.  Forbearances spiked as the pandemic began, but have been declining gradually since May 2020.  

Fannie and Freddie loans (a majority of the mortgage market) did the best throughout this process.  As a result, they've had less ground to cover recently.  In the current report, the percentage of Fannie/Freddie loans in forbearance decreased from 0.68 to 0.64%.

Contrast that to non-agency loans (portfolio or private-label) which declined from 3.43 to 3.02%--a significantly quicker pace of reduction, but from a much higher level.

Ginnie Mae loans (FHA, USDA, VA) broke the rules to some extent.  They continue to account for a higher proportion of forbearances than Fannie/Freddie loans, but they didn't decline as quickly this time, dropping only 0.03% to 1.60%.  

Other highlights from MBA's report:

  • By stage, 26.8% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 59.5% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 13.7% are forbearance re-entries, including re-entries with extensions.
  • Of the cumulative forbearance exits for the period from June 1, 2020, through January 31, 2022, at the time of forbearance exit:
    • 29.1% resulted in a loan deferral/partial claim.
    • 19.3% represented borrowers who continued to make their monthly payments during their forbearance period.
    • 17.0% represented borrowers who did not make all of their monthly payments and exited forbearance without a loss mitigation plan in place yet.
    • 14.9% resulted in a loan modification or trial loan modification.
    • 11.6% resulted in reinstatements, in which past-due amounts are paid back when exiting forbearance.
    • 6.8% resulted in loans paid off through either a refinance or by selling the home.
    • The remaining 1.3% resulted in repayment plans, short sales, deed-in-lieus or other reasons.
  • The five states with the highest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Idaho, Colorado, Washington, Utah, and Oregon.
  • The five states with the lowest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Indiana, and Illinois.