Black Knight: Number of Mortgages in Forbearance "Drops Below the Million Mark"

Daily tracking data through December 1 shows the number of active forbearance plan totals dropping below 1 million for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

According to our McDash Flash daily forbearance tracking dataset, the number of active forbearance plans fell by 23,000 (-2.3%) this week, led by a 14,000 (-3.9%) drop in FHA/VA loans. Both GSE (-7K/-2%) and PLS/portfolio (-2K/-.6%) plan volumes also improved.

As of November 30, 994,000 mortgage holders (1.9%) remain in COVID-19 related forbearance plans, including 1.1% of GSE, 2.9% of FHA/VA and 2.5% of portfolio held and privately securitized loans.

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Overall, the number of forbearance plans is down by 215,000 (-18%) from the same time last month, with the potential for additional improvements as we progress through December. After seeing starts jump before Thanksgiving, they fell to a pandemic low this week. This week’s low was likely due to the shorter holiday week.
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