13
Journal
FORECLOSURES
DOWN FOR GSEs
Foreclosures on homes with loans backed
by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac declined 9%
year over year in Q1 2020, while forbearances
ticked up sharply, according to the latest
Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report
from the Federal Housing Finance Agency
(FHFA).
A total of 7,704 third-party foreclosure
sales took place on homes backed by the GSEs
in Q1 2020, down 9% from the same quarter
a year ago. Meanwhile, foreclosure starts
declined 3%, totaling 28,978 in Q1, according
to the FHFA's report.
e number of forbearance plans initiated
in Q1 2020 rose to 170,533, which is up
markedly from fewer than 7,000 Q1 2019.
e sharp incline aligns with the GSEs'
decision to allow homeowners impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic to enter forbearance
plans.
e GSEs also completed 16,773 loan
modifications in Q1 2020. Of those, 38%
lowered monthly payments by more than 20%,
23% included principal forgiveness, and 64%
were extended term only modifications.
Loan performance at the GSEs improved
slightly during the start of 2020, with serious
delinquencies—loans 90 or more days past
due—ticking down from 0.65% in Q4 2019 to
0.64% in Q1 2020.
e percentage of loans between 60- and
90-days delinquent was 0.92% in Q1 2020,
down from 0.96% in the previous quarter. e
rate of newly delinquent loans rose slightly
from 1.21% to 1.25%.
In total, the GSEs completed 26,910
foreclosure prevention actions in Q1. Of those
25,762 were home retention actions, and 1,148
required the home to be forfeited.
Since entering conservatorship, Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac have completed 4.4
million foreclosure prevention efforts, with 3.7
million homeowners able to retain their homes
as a result.
Refinance volume at the enterprises ticked
up in Q1 2020 as mortgage rates declined.
Cash-out refinances made up 36% of GSE
loan refinances in March. ere were eight
refinances completed through FHFA's High
LTV Refinance Option in Q1 2020, just one
fewer than the previous quarter.
