The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released its third quarter 2024 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report. The report shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 43,459 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 7,047,721 since the start of conservatorships in September 2008, according to the FHFA.
The report also shows that 35 percent of loan modifications completed in the third quarter reduced borrowers’ monthly payments by more than 20 percent. The number of refinances increased from 89,571 in the second quarter of 2024 to 98,785 in the third quarter of 2024.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s serious (90 days or more) delinquency rate increased slightly to 0.53 percent at the end of the third quarter. This compares with 3.63 percent for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, 2.26 percent for Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, and 1.55 percent for all loans (industry average).
Other highlights from the report include:
- Forbearance: The total number of loans in forbearance plans increased in the third quarter of 2024. As of Sept. 30, 2024, there were 39,669 loans in forbearance, representing approximately 0.13 percent of Fannie and Freddie’s single-family conventional book of business, up from 31,827 or 0.10 percent at the end of the second quarter. Approximately 1 percent of these loans have been on the plan for more than 12 months.
- Mortgage Performance: The 60-plus day delinquency rate increased from 0.70 percent at the end of the second quarter to 0.75 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2024.
- Foreclosures: The number of foreclosure starts rose 27.0 percent to 22,025.
- Real Estate Owned (REO) Activity & Inventory: The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s REO inventory decreased 7 percent from 9,450 in the second quarter of 2024 to 8,766 in the third quarter of 2024, as REO property dispositions outpaced acquisitions. The total number of property acquisitions decreased 2 percent to 1,176, while dispositions declined 12 percent to 1,848 during the quarter.