More than seven months after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, 5.8 percent of mortgages in the United States remain in forbearance, according to the latest report released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
MBA’s weekly forbearance survey found that 2.9 million homeowners are in forbearance plans, including:
- 5.83 percent of all mortgages were in forbearance as of October 25, down from 5.90 percent the week before.
- Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 8.17 percent to 8.13 percent.
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.72 percent to 3.66 percent.
- Independent mortgage bank loans in forbearance dropped from 6.35 percent to 6.27 percent.
- Bank-managed mortgages held steady at 5.86 percent.
“With more borrowers exiting forbearance in the prior week, the share of loans in forbearance declined across all loan types. Almost half of forbearance exits to date have been from borrowers who remained current while in forbearance, or who were reinstated by paying back past-due amounts,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “The share of loans in forbearance has returned to levels last seen in early April, but it still remains remarkably high. Further improvement will require ongoing recovery in the job market, as well as additional fiscal stimulus.”