The share of mortgages in forbearance in the United States decreased slightly last week, with 2.7 million homeowners still pausing their mortgage payments, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced in its weekly survey Monday.
The survey found:
- Total loans in forbearance decreased from 5.54 percent to 5.48 percent as of December 6.
- The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 7.89 percent to 7.68 percent.
- The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.34 percent to 3.26 percent.
- The share of independent mortgage bank-managed mortgages in forbearance dropped from 6.02 percent to 5.98 percent.
- Bank-managed mortgages dropped from 5.48 percent to 5.38 percent.
“The share of loans in forbearance decreased in the first week of December. However, more borrowers sought relief, with new forbearance requests reaching their highest level since the week ending August 2, and servicer call volume hitting its highest level since the week ending April 19,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.