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Foreclosure Prevention Efforts Hit Milestone

foreclosure-helpThe mortgage services industry reached its 25 millionth non-foreclosure solution in April, as foreclosure, short sales, and deed-in-lieu transactions continue to drop, according to HOPE NOW [1], a voluntary, private-sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and non-profit counselors.

According to HOPE NOW’s report on April numbers [2], total non-foreclosure solutions (the combination of total loan modifications, short sales, deeds-in-lieu, and workout plans) were approximately 117,000. This compares to approximately 28,000 foreclosure sales for the month.

Included in that total solutions figure were an estimated 31,000 permanent loan modifications. This total includes modifications completed under both proprietary programs and the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program [3] (HAMP).

There were roughly 50,000 foreclosure starts and 28,000 foreclosure sales in April, down 16 percent and 6 percent, respectively from March. Deed-in-lieu transactions decreased by 18 percent, to approximately 1,700. Short sales also dropped by 15 percent, with 6,300 completed in March. Overall, there were 31,000 loan modifications in April, down 4 percent from March, the report stated.

“Our data indicates that early intervention is assisting with market recovery, as serious delinquency numbers continue to decline.”

Eric Selk, Executive Director, HOPE NOW

Of the permanent loan modifications completed in the month of April, an estimated 22,000 were through proprietary programs and 8,563 were completed via HAMP. Permanent loan modifications continue to outpace foreclosure sales, the agency reported.

Since 2007, HOPE NOW has tracked 6.2 million proprietary modifications, 2.4 million HAMP trial modifications, and 1.6 permanent HAMP modifications. The largest segment, however, was non-HAMP modification and repayment programs, which totaled 14.8 million since 2007.

“HOPE NOW is extremely pleased to see the hard work of our member mortgage servicers and housing counseling partners,” said executive director Eric Selk of the 25 million total solutions. “These solutions, whether they are modifications, repayment plans, or short sales, all help homeowners avoid foreclosure. It is a significant milestone.”

Selk also said that early intervention and continuing efforts are critical to keeping homeowners from becoming severely delinquent.  “Our data indicates that early intervention is assisting with market recovery, as serious delinquency numbers continue to decline,” Selk said.