Forbearances rise after three weeks of decline

Total mortgages in forbearance rose after falling for three straight weeks, according to Black Knight.

As of June 23, over 4.68 million mortgages of all investor types were in forbearance, up by approximately 83,000 from 4.6 million one week prior.

The number of government-sponsored enterprise conforming mortgages in forbearance grew by 25,000 to 1.925 million, while Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loans increased by 42,000 units to 1.509 million. Portfolio and private-label mortgages in a plan increased by 12,000 units to 1.249 million over the week.

There's about $1.025 trillion in unpaid principal balance on forborne mortgages, up from $1.012 trillion the previous week.

The share of all outstanding mortgages inched up to 8.8% from 8.7%. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans have the lowest share in forbearance at 6.9% while 9.6% of private-labels are in a plan. FHA and VA mortgages have the highest combined forbearance share at 12.5%. However, when broken down individually, the FHA share of 14.7% brings up the average, with the VA portion sitting at 7.5%.

Emergency measures regarding the servicing of forborne government-backed or conforming mortgages fall under CARES Act guidelines, which exclude nonagency loans.

The latest Black Knight estimates show mortgage servicers will have to advance $5.7 billion each month in principal and interest payments and an additional $2.1 billion due in taxes and insurance. The T&I estimate remained unchanged from the previous week, but the P&I jumped by approximately $100 million.

Overall, Black Knight's data showed delinquencies more than doubled in the two-month span from March to May with the pandemic negatively affecting the economy.