Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decreases to 0.23% in December

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• Total loans in forbearance decreased by 3 basis points in December 2023 relative to November 2023: from 0.26% to 0.23%.

• By investor type, the share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month: from 0.47% to 0.39%.

• The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month: from 0.16% to 0.15%.

• The share of other loans (e.g., portfolio and PLS loans) in forbearance decreased relative to the prior month: from 0.30% to 0.27%.

• Loans in forbearance as a share of servicing portfolio volume (#) as of December 31, 2023:

• Total: 0.23% (previous month: 0.26%)

• Independent Mortgage Banks (IMBs): 0.27% (previous month: 0.32%)

• Depositories: 0.22% (previous month: 0.23%)

• By reason, 61.2% of borrowers are in forbearance for reasons such as a temporary hardship caused by job loss, death, divorce, or disability; while 26.8% of borrowers are in forbearance because of COVID-19.  Another 12.0% are in forbearance because of a natural disaster. 

• By stage, 51.7% of total loans in forbearance are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 31.5% are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 16.8% are forbearance re-entries, including re-entries with extensions.

• Of the cumulative forbearance exits for the period from July 1, 2020, through December 31, 2023, at the time of forbearance exit:

• 29.4% resulted in a loan deferral/partial claim.

• 17.7% represented borrowers who continued to make their monthly payments during their forbearance period.

• 18.5% represented borrowers who did not make all of their monthly payments and exited forbearance without a loss mitigation plan in place yet.

• 16.0% resulted in a loan modification or trial loan modification.

• 10.7% resulted in reinstatements, in which past-due amounts are paid back when exiting forbearance.

• 6.5% resulted in loans paid off through either a refinance or by selling the home.

• The remaining 1.2% resulted in repayment plans, short sales, deed-in-lieus or other reasons.

• Total loans serviced that were current (not delinquent or in foreclosure) as a percent of servicing portfolio volume (#) decreased to 95.44% (on a non-seasonally adjusted basis) in December 2023 from 95.71% in November 2023.

• The five states with the highest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Washington, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.

• The five states with the lowest share of loans that were current as a percent of servicing portfolio: Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, New York, and Illinois.

• Total completed loan workouts from 2020 and onward (repayment plans, loan deferrals/partial claims, loan modifications) that were current as a percent of total completed workouts were 74.39% in December 2023, which was 21 basis points below the percentage of total loans serviced that were current for the month.