The Federal Housing Finance Agency [1] has released the Foreclosure Prevention Report for May 2018, a monthly update on the foreclosure data resulting from the actions of Fannie Mae [2] and Freddie Mac [3]. The data reported nearly 24,211 foreclosure prevention actions completed for the month, a nearly 13 percent month-over-month increase from April, bringing the total to 4,154,218 since the conservatorships began in September 2008. According to the report, over half of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.
Of the total 2,218,961 permanent loan modifications produced by the conservatorships since their inception, 17,557 were produced within this time period. Twenty-six percent of modifications in May were modifications with principal forbearance. Modifications with extend term only accounted for 47 percent of all loan modifications during the month. Eight hundred and eighty-seven short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure were completed in May, a 4 percent increase from April’s reporting.
The enterprises recorded that the serious delinquency rate has made slight progress, dropping from 1.03 percent at the end of April, to .97 percent at the end of the May reporting period, though third-party and foreclosure sales showed an increase to 4,624 in May from 4,410 in April.
According to the report, the enterprises’ foreclosure starts decreased from 15,308 in April to 12,834 in May. This comparison reflects recent data [4] released by CoreLogic, which shows the number of foreclosures having decreased back to pre-crisis levels nationally as of April. This report showed more homeowners remaining current on their mortgage payments thanks to factors such as unemployment rates at an 18-year low, home prices above the pre-recession peak, and high-quality underwriting. Reflecting a near 4 percent decline, foreclosures have reached .6 percent in the CoreLogic report.
Read the full report here [5].
Want to know more about Fannie and Freddie’s recent movements? Check out the articles below:
Fannie Mae Earnings Increase in Q2 [6]
Freddie Mac Initiative Brings Affordable Homes to Three Cities [7]