FHFA: Foreclosure Prevention Report – January 2021

Investor Update
April 16, 2021

Source: FHFA

January 2021 Highlights — Foreclosure Prevention

The Enterprises’ Foreclosure Prevention Actions:

• The Enterprises completed 71,932 foreclosure prevention actions in January, bringing the total to 5,660,185 since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008. Approximately 43 percent of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.

• There were 3,231 permanent loan modifications in January, bringing the total to 2,444,197 since the conservatorships began in September 2008.

• Eleven percent of modifications in January were modifications with principal forbearance. Modifications with extend-term only accounted for 67 percent of all loan modifications during the month.

• The number of borrowers who received payment deferrals after completing a COVID-19 related forbearance plan decreased from 44,575 in December 2020 to 38,976 in January 2021.

• Initiated forbearance plans decreased 23 percent from 61,929 in December to 47,866 in January. The total number of loans in forbearance plan also decreased from 804,559 at the end of December 2020 to 771,369 at the end of January 2021, representing approximately 2.6% of the total loans serviced, and 68 percent of the total delinquent loans.

• There were 232 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure completed in January 2021, down 14 percent compared with December 2020.

The Enterprises’ Mortgage Performance:

• The 30-59 days delinquency rate decreased to 0.90 percent, while the serious delinquency rate dropped from 2.78 percent at the end of December to 2.70 percent at the end of January.

The Enterprises’ Foreclosures:

• Third-party and foreclosure sales increased 6 percent to 624 while foreclosure starts decreased 9 percent to 2,076 in January.

January 2021 Highlights — Refinance Activities

• Total refinance volume rose in January 2021 amid historic low mortgage rates through December. Mortgage rates increased in January: the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 2.74 percent from 2.68 percent in December.

• In January, 10 refinances were completed through the High LTV Refinance Option, bringing total refinances through the High LTV Refinance Option from the inception of the program to 150.

• The percentage of cash-out refinances decreased to 27 percent in January from 29 percent in December, remaining below the levels observed in the previous few years. Mortgage rates have reached historic low levels, creating more opportunities for non cash-out borrowers to refinance at lower rates and lower their monthly payments.

Attachments:

Foreclosure Prevention, Refi, and FPM – January 2021