Forbearance Volumes Down From Peak

Forbearances continued to decline, modestly, from May's pandemic-related peak, according to data from Black Knight’s McDash Flash Forbearance Tracker, which showed forbearance volumes fell by 11,000 from the prior week.

"This was the result of larger declines among GSE loans (14,000) and portfolio-held and privately securitized loans (2,000) being offset by an increase of 5,000 in FHA/VA loans in forbearance," Black Knight reported Friday.

Almost 3 million borrowers, as of October 20, remain in active COVID-19 forbearance plans—that represents 5.6% of first lien mortgages.

According to Black Knight, "This is a noticeable reduction from the market’s peak of 4.76 million in late May. More than 80% of remaining forbearance plans have had their terms extended with their servicer."

The following chart shows how this week compares to the past months:

The report continues, "Despite the muted improvement seen this week, overall forbearance volumes are down 623K month-over-month, driven by the large reduction in loans in active forbearance plans at the beginning of the month. This marks a 17% decline from September, showing sustained downward movement in forbearance volumes ... overall, active forbearance numbers are heading in the right direction, though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present unique and unprecedented market conditions."

For Black Knight's weekly forbearance report, visit the Black Knight website.