New forbearance starts were at their highest level since March, contributing to an increase in the number of U.S. homeowners currently in a plan, Black Knight reported.
Still, the total is almost 8% lower than
"Such upward movement late in the month has been relatively common in the recovery to date," Andy Walden, vice president of market research said in a blog post. "Plan removals are clustered early in the month, which tends to lead to some degree of restart activity as the month progresses."
At the same time, the number of borrowers restarting a forbearance plan they exited remained elevated, making up nearly two-third of the additions to the inventory.
The 31,000 net increase in the number of outstanding forbearance plans for the week ended July 27 brings the total to 1.89 million and it follows a 2,000 unit increase the week before. The unpaid principal balance rose to $370 billion from $363 billion. The forbearance plan window is now
This data comes from Black Knight's McDash Flash daily forbearance tracker.
Private-label and portfolio loans in forbearance, which are not covered by the CARES Act mandate, increased by 35,000 over the prior week, to 568,000; as a result the UPB rose to $124 billion from $116 billion.
Meanwhile, mortgages in forbearance insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by Veterans Affairs rose 1,000 to 757,000, although the UPB was flat at $128 billion.
On the other hand, 5,000 fewer Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages remained in forbearance plans, now making the total 569,000. The UPB is $117 billion, compared with $119 billion one week prior.
It is likely the streak of increases will end.
There are approximately 179,000 plans remaining to be reviewed for extension or removal by the end of July, "which provides some substantial opportunity for improvement next week," Walden said.
