Servicers Increase Mods and Short Sales in Q3: HOPE NOW

In the third quarter of this year, servicers increased the pace at which they completed proprietary modifications and short sales, ""HOPE NOW"":http://www.hopenow.com/ data revealed Monday.

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In Q3 2012, proprietary modifications, or non-government mods, stood at 186,057 compared to 161,764 in Q3 2011, representing a 15 percent annual gain, according to the alliance.

Quarter-over-quarter, proprietary mods were up 41 percent compared to Q2 2012, when there were 131,556 completed mods.

In addition to the 186,057 proprietary mods in Q3, mortgage servicers also completed 33,276 mods through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), bringing the quarterly total for completed mods to 219,333. HOPE NOW noted HAMP figures for September have not yet been reported.

When including all modifications, year-to-date, 604,301 homeowners have received permanent loan mods in 2012.

In Q3, short sales, another solution to prevent foreclosures, totaled 110,153, up 16 percent from Q3 in 2011 when there were 94,560 completed short sales.

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Quarter-over-quarter, short sales were up 3 percent. However, completed short sales were actually down month-over-month by 13 percent in September.

While mods and short sales were up in Q3 2012, foreclosure starts were down, falling to 503,995 compared to 597,447 in Q3 2011, representing a 16 percent decline.

Foreclosure sales saw a slight 1 percent decline in Q3, dropping to 197,937 compared to 199,383 a year ago.

In a statement, Faith Schwartz, executive director of HOPE NOW said, ""The combination of loan modifications and short sales solutions completed by mortgage servicers, in the third quarter of the year, totals over 329,000. That compares to approximately 198,000 foreclosure sales during the same time period.""

Sixty-plus delinquencies also fell in Q3 2012, numbering 2.45 million, down 12 percent from the same quarter last year.

For just the month of September, HOPE NOW also provided data on characteristics of proprietary loan modifications. Among the 60,595 completed proprietary loan mods in September, 87 percent included reduced principal and interest on monthly payments. In addition, 76 percent of those mods had reduced principal and interest payments exceeding 10 percent.

Since 2007, the servicers have completed 5.82 million permanent loan modifications. Of those loan mods, 4,739,109 were proprietary and 1,076,747 were completed under HAMP.

HOPE NOW--an alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and non-profit counselors--offers a free hotline for struggling homeowners at 888.995.HOPE.