The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that loans in forbearance spiked again in the first week of April, with about 1.86 million loans currently in forbearance.
That has grown from about 12,450 loans in forbearance at the start of March. That's an increase of 14,839 percent in a month.
MBA said its latest Forbearance and Call Volume survey found that the percentage of loans in forbearance rose to 3.74 percent the week of March 30-April 5, up from 2.73 percent a week earlier. That’s a growth of about 500,000 loans in forbearance in a week.
“The nationwide shutdown of the economy to slow the spread of COVID-19 continues to create hardships for millions of households, and more are contacting their servicers for relief in accordance with the forbearance provisions under the CARES Act,” MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni said in a press release announcing the results. “The share of loans in forbearance grew the first week of April, and forbearance requests and call center volume further increased. With mitigation efforts seemingly in place for at least several more weeks, job losses will continue and the number of borrowers asking for forbearance will likely continue to rise at a rapid pace.
“There was a decline in call center hold times and abandonment rates in the latest survey, which indicates the mortgage industry is adapting to the current environment by adding or reallocating staff and increasingly utilizing its websites to help borrowers.”
Independent mortgage bankers had 4.17 percent of loans in forbearance in the most recent week, the survey found, while banks have 3.63 percent of loans in forbearance.
By investor type, Ginnie Mae saw the share of its loans in forbearance grow to 5.89 percent from 4.31 percent a week earlier. Loans in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac portfolio rose to 2.44 percent in forbearance from 1.69 percent a week earlier.
The survey collection represents about 54 percent of the total first-mortgage servicing market, some 26.9 million loans, and MBA said in the release that it expects the same size to increase as more servicers respond to requests for participation in the survey.