Safeguard Properties

As 1.2 Million Mortgage Holders Exit Forbearance, Unexpected Hurdles

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
October 08, 2021

Source: Bankrate.com

In the 18 months since the CARES Act first passed, over a million American homeowners took advantage of the forbearance protections the law provided for.

After a few extensions, the mortgage payment pause officially ended — or will be ending soon — for 1.2 million out of an estimated 1.7 million loans that remained in forbearance as of August, according to CoreLogic.

While experts say market conditions should prevent a wave of foreclosures, some borrowers are still struggling to get back on track.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Knight: Number of Homeowners in COVID-19- Related Forbearance Plans “Largest Weekly Decline in 12 Months”

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
October 08, 2021

Source: Calculated Risk

According to McDash Flash daily forbearance tracking dataset, the population dropped by 11% since last Tuesday, marking the largest weekly decline in 12 months.

The number of active forbearance plans fell by 177,000 this week with declines seen across all investor classes, led by an 84,000 plan drop among FHA/VA loans. Plans among GSE loans and those held in bank portfolios and private label securities also fell, seeing 50,000 (-11%) and 43,000 (-8%) declines respectively.

As of October 5, 1.39 million mortgage holders remain in COVID-19 related forbearance plans, representing 2.6% of all active mortgages, including 1.4% of GSE, 4.3% of FHA/VA and 3.6% of portfolio held and privately securitized loans.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments on September Unemployment

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
October 08, 2021

Source: Calculated Risk

The headline jobs number in the September employment report was well below expectations, however employment for the previous two months was revised up significantly.   The participation rate declined, and the unemployment rate decreased to 4.8%.

Leisure and hospitality gained 74 thousand jobs in September.  In March and April of 2020, leisure and hospitality lost 8.2 million jobs, and are now down 1.6 million jobs since February 2020.  So leisure and hospitality has now added back about 80% of the jobs lost in March and April 2020.

Construction employment increased 22 thousand, and manufacturing added 26 thousand jobs.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

FEMA Declared Disaster New York Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
October 8, 2021

FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in New York affected by Tropical Storm Fred that took place August 18-19, 2021. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Public Assistance
  • Allegany
  • Cayuga
  • Cortland
  • Lewis
  • Oneida
  • Onondaga
  • Steuben
  • Tioga
  • Yates

New York Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred (DR-4625)

FEMA Declared Disaster New York: ZIP Code List

Map of Affected Areas

 

 

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

OCC Reports Improvement in Mortgage Performance

Posted on by Safeguard

Investor Update
September 28, 2021

Source: OCC

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported that the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system improved during the second quarter of 2021.

The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Second Quarter 2021 showed that 95.0 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at the end of the second quarter of 2021 compared to 91.1 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2020. The second quarter of 2020 was the first full quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages—mortgages that are 60 or more days past due and all mortgages held by bankrupt borrowers whose payments are 30 or more days past due—was 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2021, compared to 4.6 percent in the prior quarter and 6.8 percent a year ago.

Servicers initiated 592 new foreclosures during the second quarter of 2021, a 28.9 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 137.8 percent increase from a year ago. Events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including foreclosure moratoriums, have significantly affected these metrics.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

Freddie Mac: Mortgage Serious Delinquency Rate Decreased in August

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Industry Update
September 27, 2021

Source: CalculatedRisk

Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in August was 1.62%, down from 1.74% in July. Freddie’s rate is down year-over-year from 3.17% in August 2020.

Freddie’s serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 4.20% following the housing bubble, and peaked at 3.17% in August 2020 during the pandemic.

These are mortgage loans that are “three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure”.

This is very different from the increase in delinquencies following the housing bubble. Lending standards have been fairly solid over the last decade, and most of these homeowners have equity in their homes – and they will be able to restructure their loans once (if) they are employed.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

HUD Homes More Likely to be in Floodplains

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Industry Update
September 13, 2021

Source: Inman

Repossessed homes sold by the Department of Housing and Urban Development between 2017 and 2020 were almost 75 times more likely to be in federally designated floodplains than other homes sold during that timeframe, according to an analysis of nearly 100,000 homes sales by NPR.

HUD is not required to disclose flood risk to would-be homebuyers, most of whom didn’t learn that the home they were interested in was located in a flood zone until they were told by their lender that they needed to buy flood insurance, NPR found. By then, many had already made an offer or paid a nonrefundable deposit.

In some cases, HUD sold homes in flood-prone communities where local officials were trying to buy up homes and knock them down to prevent future calamities, including “severe loss properties” that had been rebuilt multiple times at taxpayer expense.

NPR’s investigation concluded that HUD could work more closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), “which produces flood maps, provides flood insurance and allocates money for climate-related mitigation projects such as raising houses.”

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest Weekly Survey

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
September 15, 2021

Source: CalculatedRisk

Mortgage applications increased 0.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 10, 2021. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week and was 3 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 8 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 5 percent compared with the previous week and was 12 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

“Purchase applications – after adjusting for the impact of Labor Day – increased over 7 percent last week to their highest level since April 2021. Compared to the same week last September, which was right in the middle of a significant upswing in home purchases, applications were down 11 percent – the smallest year-over-year decline in 14 weeks,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Both conventional and government purchase applications increased, and the average loan size for a purchase application rose to $396,800. The very competitive purchase market continues to put upward pressure on sales prices.”

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

FEMA Declared Disaster Arizona Severe Storms And Flooding

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
September 13, 2021

FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in Arizona affected by severe storms and flooding that took place July 22-24, 2021. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Public Assistance
  • Apache
  • Coconino
  • Navajo

Arizona Severe Storms And Flooding (DR-4620)

FEMA Declared Disaster Arizona: ZIP Code List

 

 

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

FEMA Declared Disaster Louisiana Tropical Storm Nicholas

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
September 13, 2021

FEMA issued an Emergency Declaration for areas in Louisiana affected by Tropical Storm Nicholas that began on September 12, 2021. All parishes have been approved for public assistance.

 

Louisiana Tropical Storm Nicholas (EM-3574)

FEMA Declared Disaster Louisiana: ZIP Code List

 

 

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies