Black Knight notes a marked improvement in abstention statistics during the week ended March 9. The number of loans in active plans fell by 77,000 during the week, the largest weekly drop since early January, and lowered the number of plans to 2.6 million, a -2.9 percent change . At the end of the reporting period, the remaining loans represent 4.9% of the country’s 53 million mortgages and an outstanding principal balance of $ 515 billion. It was the first time since April 2020 that less than 5 percent of US mortgages were forborne.

Black Knight said the week’s improvement was due to both expirations expected in late February as well as repairers get a head start in dealing with extensions and deletions for the massive number of borrowers with expiration dates at the end of March. Although more than 100,000 of these loans have already been extended or canceled, more than 800,000 plans expiring at the end of March have yet to be processed.

The company calls it “a tough job for repairers.” They must look at upcoming expirations, taking action based on the recent expansion of housing and urban development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s maximum forbearance terms at 18 months. Repairers are should continue to use three months for the duration of the extensions.

As of March 9, there were 871,000 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans withheld, or 3.1% of these portfolios. Forborne FHA and VA loans total 1.78 million and 659,000 are loans managed for bank portfolios or private equity investors (PLS). These loans represent 8.9% and 5.1% of their respective portfolios.