Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Complete 43,903 Foreclosure Prevention Actions in Q4 2023Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 43,903 foreclosure prevention actions during the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) fourth quarter 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report. The report also shows that 31 percent of loan modifications completed in the fourth quarter reduced borrowers’ monthly payments by more than 20 percent.
Overall, the total number of homeowners who have been helped has climbed to 6,905,703 since the start of conservatorships in September 2008.
Here are some other highlights from the report:
The serious delinquency rate increased slightly from 0.54 percent to 0.55 percent at the end of the fourth quarter. However, this compares with 3.42 percent for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, 2.01 percent for Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, and 1.52 percent for all loans.
The number of refinances decreased from 83,522 in the third quarter of 2023 to 71,378 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
There were 42,194 loans in forbearance, representing approximately 0.14 percent of the two enterprises’ single-family conventional book of business. This is down from 47,672 or 0.15 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2023. Roughly 2 percent of these loans have been on a forbearance plan for more than 12 months.
The 60+ day delinquency rate increased slightly from 0.73 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2023 to 0.77 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.
The number of foreclosure starts decreased 4 percent to 18,731 while third-party and foreclosure sales fell 9 percent to 3,282 in the fourth quarter.
Real estate owned (REO) activity & inventory decreased 1.1 percent from 11,019 in the third quarter of 2023 to 10,902 in the fourth quarter of 2023, as property dispositions outpaced acquisitions.
These numbers show that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuing to make progress in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. The decrease in the number of refinances is likely due to rising interest rates, but the overall number of homeowners who have been helped is still significant.
If you are facing foreclosure, there are a number of resources available to help you. You can contact your mortgage servicer to discuss your options, or you can seek help from a HUD-approved housing counselor. There are also a number of non-profit organizations that offer foreclosure prevention assistance.
