The latest data released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows 7.54 percent of mortgage borrowers – or 3.8 million – were in forbearance as of April 26. That’s up from 6.99 percent a week earlier. On March 2, roughly 0.25 percent of loans were in forbearance.
MBA’s numbers are even higher than those released Friday by Black Knight, which estimated that 7.3 percent of mortgages were in forbearance as of April 30.
“The share of loans in forbearance increased once again in the last full week of April, but the pace of new requests slowed,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “With millions more Americans filing for unemployment over the week, the level of job market distress continues to worsen. That is why we expect that the share of loans in forbearance will continue to grow, particularly as new mortgage payments come due in May.”
The MBA survey found:
- 10.45 percent of Ginnie Mae loans were in forbearance, up from 9.73 percent a week earlier.
- 8.41 percent of loans for depository servicers were in forbearance, up from 7.87 percent.
- 7.13 percent of independent mortgage bank loans were in forbearance, up from 6.52 percent.
- 5.85 percent of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans were .in forbearance, up from 5.46 percent
The $2 trillion CARES Act includes a moratorium on foreclosures and the right to forbearance on federally backed mortgages. Forbearance allows borrowers to put off payments for at least 180 days if they suffer economic hardship during the pandemic.