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In January, servicers completed about 78,400 modifications, bringing the total since 2007 to 6.15 million, according to data from ""HOPE NOW"":http://www.hopenow.com/, an alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and nonprofit counselors.
[IMAGE]Of the modifications in January, 63,540 were proprietary, or private, loan modifications, while 14,860 were through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
Since 2007, around five million distressed homeowners have received a proprietary loan modification, and another 1.15 million borrowers were modified through HAMP as of 2009.
According to HOPE NOW, proprietary loan modifications continued to show traits of affordability, with 85 percent of the
[COLUMN_BREAK]mods in January receiving a reduction in principal and interest. In addition, 76 percent of proprietary loan mods brought down principal and interest payments by more than 10 percent.
The number of completed short sales in January slowed to 29,244, down from 34,909 in December 2012. As of December 2009, the industry has completed 1.18 million short sales. When combining foreclosure prevention solutions through modifications and short sales, the cumulative total is about 7.33 million.
HOPE NOW also reported foreclosure sales stood at 60,412 in January, representing a 23 percent decrease year-over-year, but a 21 percent increase from December 2013.
January foreclosure starts numbered 140,482, a 30 percent decrease from a year ago and an 8 percent increase from the month before.
Using data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, HOPE NOW also reported serious delinquencies fell 9 percent year-over-year.
""Delinquencies and foreclosure sales have gone down significantly, compared to the same period last year, and that is a testament to the hard work of the industry, aggressive borrower outreach, better financial counseling and the multitude of options available borrowers,"" said Eric Selk, HOPE NOW executive director.
