Active forbearance plans rose by 11,500 plans (1.5%) last week, following a “typical pattern of mid-month restart activity”, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision.
Forborne loans held by portfolios and PSLs increased by 7,600 (3.1%), while FHA/VA loans in forbearance rose by 4,900 (1.8%). In contrast, GSE plans actually fell by 1,000 (-0.4%).
Plan volumes are down 38,100 (-4.7%) month-over-month. Black Knight notes that as many homeowners have already exited their plans, expiration activity is slowing. Moderating improvement is the result of this “gradually flattening slope.”
Some 129,000 plans are up for review in early March, the next time Black Knight expects to see significant improvement. One-third should expire.
ATTOM Data Solutions reported that foreclosure-related filings jumped 29% from December and 139% YOY, with completed foreclosures reaching their highest levels since March 2020. But filings are still historically low.
Forbearance restarts and new plans have also been on the rise as forbearance exits slow, the result of many homeowners having already exited their Covid-19 related plans.
“It is likely that the remaining borrowers in forbearance have experienced either a permanent hardship that may require more complex loan workout solutions, or they have encountered a recent hardship for which they are now seeking relief,” Marina Walsh, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis, recently said of forbearance rates.
The total number of mortgage holders in Covid-19 related forbearance is now 772,000, or 1.5% of all mortgages. More than 90% of single-family homeowners who entered Covid-related forbearance have now exited their plans.
- Share of FHA/VA loans in forbearance: 2.3% (unchanged)
- Share of GSE loans: 0.9% (unchanged)
- Share of Portfolio-held and PSL: 1.9% (-1%)