Delinquency rates of GSE-backed mortgages held steady
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 25,930 foreclosure prevention actions in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) foreclosure prevention and refinance report.
The report also showed that nearly 40% of loan modifications the GSEs did in Q4 2919 lowered borrowers' monthly payments by more than 20%.
Fannie and Freddie posted serious delinquency rates of 0.65%, unchanged from the previous quarter. The delinquency rate of FHA loans was 3.47%, followed by VA loans at 1.92% and 1.76% for all loans.
This, along with a low mortgage rate environment and other factors, drove a surge in refinances in the fourth quarter. FHFA recorded a quarter-over-quarter spike in refis, up from 540,578 in Q3 2019 to 728,842 in Q4 2019.
FHFA recently announced a forbearance and eviction suspension program for renters facing financial hardships during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Renters should not have to worry about being evicted from their home, and property owners should not have to worry about losing their building due to the coronavirus. The multifamily forbearance and eviction suspension offered by the enterprises should bring peace of mind to millions of families during this uncertain and difficult time," said Director Mark Calabria. “The enterprises are working with mortgage servicers to ensure that these programs are implemented immediately so that property owners and renters experiencing hardship because of the coronavirus can get the assistance they need."
