The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) third quarter 2024 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report showed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 43,459 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter.
The report also showed that 35 percent of loan modifications in the third quarter reduced borrowers’ monthly payments by more than 20 percent, and that the number of refinances increased from the second to third quarter from 89,571 to 98,785.
The percentage of cash-out refinances decreased to 59 percent in September after rising as high as 82 percent over the last three years.
The government-sponsored enterprises’ (GSE) serious (90 days or more) delinquency rate increased slightly to 0.53 percent, compared with 3.63 percent for Federal Housing Administration loans, 2.26 percent for Veterans Affairs loans, and 1.55 percent for the industry average of all loans.
Other highlights from the report include:
- Forbearance: The total number of loans in forbearance plans increased in the third quarter to 39,669, representing approximately 0.13 percent of the Enterprises’ single-family conventional book of business and 7.3 percent of the total delinquent loans, from 31,827, or 0.10 percent in the second quarter. Approximately 1 percent of these loans have been on the plan for more than a year.
- Mortgage performance: The 60+ day delinquency rate increased from 0.70 percent to 0.75 percent from the third to fourth quarter.
- Foreclosures: The number of foreclosure starts rose 27 percent to 22,025 in the third quarter, while third-party and foreclosure sales increased 3.2 percent to 3,039.
- Home forfeiture actions: There were 183 completes short sales and deeds-in-lieu in the third quarter, up 8 percent from the second to third quarter.
- Real Estate Owned (REO) activity and inventory: The Enterprises’ REO inventory decreased 7 percent from 9,450 in the second quarter to 8,766 in the third quarter, as REO property dispositions outpaced acquisitions. The total number of property acquisitions decreased 2 percent to 1,176, while dispositions fell 12 percent to 1,848.
FHFA’s quarterly foreclosure prevention and refinance reports include data on the Enterprises’ mortgage performance, delinquencies, and active forbearance plans, as well as forfeiture actions and refis by state.