by Calculated Risk on 3/19/2021 08:08:00 AM

Note: Both Black Knight and the MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) are putting out weekly estimates of mortgages in forbearance.

This data is as of March 16th.

From Black Knight: Forbearances Fall Below 2.6m For the First Time Since April 2020

Servicers continue to work through the large volume of scheduled March month-end expirations, which led to a decline in the number of active forbearance plans (down 16,000/-0.6%). About 620,000 active plans remain with March month-end expirations, roughly half of the 1.2 million such plans entering this month.

This week’s declines were driven by improvements among both GSE (-13,000) and FHA/VA plans (-8,000), while active plan volumes rose among portfolio/PLS mortgages.

Click on graph for larger image.

All in, as of March 16, there are now 2.59 million active forbearance plans, representing 4.9% of all active mortgages. This marks the first time since early April 2020 that the number of outstanding forbearance plans has edged below 2.6 million.

Keeping in mind those 620,000 mortgages in forbearance with March expirations, the extension and removal activity will be worth keeping a close eye on through the final two weeks of the month and into early April. We’ll post another forbearance update next Friday, March 26.
emphasis added

The number of loans in forbearance has declined slightly over the last few months.