CONTACT
Adam DeSanctis
[email protected]
(202) 557-2727

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 7, 2020) – The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance remained unchanged relative to the prior week at 5.54% as of November 29, 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 decreased slightly to 3.34 percent – a 2-basis-point improvement. Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased 6 basis points to 7.89%, and the forbearance share for portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) increased by 7 basis points to 8.70%. The percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers decreased 1 basis point from the previous week to 6.02%, and the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers increased 1 basis point from the previous week to 5.48%.

“After two weeks of increases, the share of loans in forbearance was unchanged for the week that included Thanksgiving. A small decline in forbearances for GSE loans was offset by increases for Ginnie Mae and portfolio loans,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “While new forbearance requests declined for the week, exits slowed to a new low for the series.”

Added Fratantoni, “The job market data for November showed an economic recovery that was slowing in response to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. It is not surprising to see the rate of forbearance exits slow, as households that needed forbearance assistance in October may be in even greater need now.”