New year, same old story when it comes to the number of homeowners in forebearance plans in the United States.
The total number of mortgages in forbearance remained unchanged in the last Mortgage Bankers Association report released Tuesday, with 2.7 million homeowners pausing their mortgages as of December 27.
The weekly report found:
- Total loans in forbearance remained unchanged relative to the prior week at 5.53 percent.
- The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased from 7.87 percent to 7.92 percent.
- The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.26 percent to 3.24 percent.
- Independent mortgage bank-managed mortgages in forbearance decreased from 6.04 percent to 6.01 percent.
- Bank-managed mortgages increased from 5.43 percent to 5.44 percent.
“The share of loans in forbearance remained relatively unchanged in the final two weeks of 2020, maintaining the trend of hovering around 5.5 percent for the last two months. However, the share for Ginnie Mae loans continues to inch up and is now at its highest level since the week of November 1st,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.
“While the increasing number of COVID-19 cases continues to slow economic activity, the passed stimulus legislation should provide financial support for many households as the vaccine rollout commences.”