The total number of loans now in forbearance increased to 0.50 percent at the end of November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey.
MBA estimates that 250,000 homeowners are currently in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance increased 1 basis point to 0.21 percent in November, while Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased by 5 basis points to 1.11 percent. Also, the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased 1 basis point to 0.42 percent.
“The overall mortgage forbearance rate increased three basis points in November and has now risen for six consecutive months,” Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA’s vice president of industry analysis, said. “By investor type, Ginnie Mae loans are showing the greatest variance, with an increase of 72 basis points over the six-month period. That is compared to 11 basis points for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loans, and portfolio and PLS loans, respectively.”
Among the key findings:
• Total loans in forbearance increased by 3 basis points in November 2024 relative to October 2024: from 0.47 percent to 0.50 percent.
• By investor type, the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased relative to the prior month from 1.06 percent to 1.11 percent.
• The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance increased relative to the prior month from 0.20 percent to 0.21 percent.
• The share of other loans in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month from 0.43 percent to 0.42 percent.
“There is some weakening in performance of servicing portfolios and loan workouts compared to one year ago. In the wake of natural disasters and slowing in the labor market, borrowers with government loans tend to be impacted more than conventional borrowers,” Walsh added.
The five states with the highest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio are Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Oregon, and Colorado. The five states with the lowest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio are Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, West Virginia, and Alabama.
MBA’s monthly Loan Monitoring Survey covers the period from November 1 through November 30, and represents 62 percent of the first-mortgage servicing market (30.9 million loans).