Foreclosure Prevention, Refinance, and Federal Property Manager's Report - February 2024

February 2024 Highlights - Foreclosure Prevention

​The Enterprises' Foreclosure Prevention Actions:

• ​​The Enterprises completed 17,993 foreclosure prevention actions in February, bringing the total to 6,941,211 since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008. Approximately 39 percent of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.
• There were 5,293 permanent loan modifications in February, bringing the total to 2,692,612 since the conservatorships began in September 2008.
• Approximately 79 percent of loan modifications in February involved extend term only. Modifications with principal forbearance accounted for 20 percent of all loan modifications during the month.
• The number of borrowers who received payment deferrals after completing a forbearance plan decreased slightly from 8,628 in January to 8,584 in February.
• Initiated forbearance plans decreased 7 percent from 7,490 in January to 6,943 in February. The total number of loans in forbearance also decreased from 38,872 at the end of January to 36,837 at the end of February, representing approximately 0.12 percent of the total loans serviced and 7 percent of the total delinquent loans.

The Enterprises' Mortgage Performance: 

• The 30-59 days delinquency rate increased to 0.96 percent while the serious delinquency rate decreased to 0.53 percent at the end of February.

The Enterprises' Foreclosures:

• Third-party and foreclosure sales decreased 15 percent to 965 while foreclosure starts declined 13 percent to 5,927 in February.

February 2024 Highlights - Refinance Activities

• Total refinance volume increased in February 2024 as mortgage rates remained below the elevated levels observed in late 2023. Mortgage rates rose in February: the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased to 6.78 percent.
• ​The percentage of cash-out refinances continued at 69 percent in February after rising as high as 82 percent over the last two years. Higher mortgage rates have reduced the opportunities for non cash-out borrowers to refinance at lower rates and lower their monthly payments.