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FHFA Releases Foreclosure Prevention Report

The ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov (FHFA), regulator of the nation's GSEs and the more than $6.3 trillion in mortgage funding they supply, released its November Foreclosure Prevention Report today. The monthly report provides data on the loss mitigation efforts of ""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com and ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com, as well as information on delinquencies, foreclosures initiated, and foreclosures completed.
According to FHFA Director James B. Lockhart, loan modifications for October and November of last year - the first two full months since the government's GSE takeover - increased by 50 percent from the previous two months. Lockhart said that these numbers ""reflect the increased commitment of the servicers and the GSEs to help borrowers in trouble modify their loans to keep them in their homes.""
The report shows that as of November 30, 2008, of the two enterprises’ 30.6 million residential mortgages, 2.73 percent were 60-plus days delinquent (including those in bankruptcy and foreclosure). That number is up slightly from 2.39 percent in October, but a steeper jump from the 1.46 recorded in March 2008.
Loans 90-plus days delinquent (including those in bankruptcy and foreclosure) increased from 1.00 percent of all loans in March, to 1.67 percent in October and 1.88 percent in November.
Loans for which foreclosure was started (as a percent of loans 60+ days delinquent) declined from 7.20 percent for the third quarter of 2008, to 6.44 percent in October and 5.25 percent in November. Foreclosure starts during the first half of 2008 were much higher, with 8.29 percent for the first quarter and 7.81 percent for the second quarter.
Loans for which foreclosure was completed (as a percent of loans 60+ days delinquent) came in at 2.33 percent in October and 1.73 percent in November. That's down from 2.41 percent during the first quarter, 2.55 percent for the second quarter, and 2.56 percent for the third quarter.
Modifications completed increased to 5,600 for October and 8,291 for November. Compared with the monthly average of 4,948 for the first nine months of 2008, October modifications increased by 13.2 percent and November by 67.6 percent. The monthly average for loan modifications in 2007 was 2,883.
Since the timeframe covered by FHFA's November report, both Fannie and Freddie announced a suspension of foreclosure sales and evictions for single-family properties. The moratorium on foreclosure sales was extended through January 31, 2009, and the freeze on evictions has been extended through the month of February.
According to FHFA, the extensions allowed servicers additional time to work with borrowers in foreclosure, specifically, those that are eligible for the Streamlined Modification Program (SMP) implemented December 15. Because only two business days of foreclosure activities in November were impacted by the suspension, it had little effect on the month’s performance, FHFA explained, but the agency expects the impact to be greater on foreclosure prevention performance to be reported for December and January.
For more information, including January through November data figures discussed in the FHFA's November 2008 Foreclosure Prevention Report, ""click here"":http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/745/foreclosureprevention2609.pdf.

About Author: Carrie Bay

Carrie Bay is a freelance writer for DS News and its sister publication MReport. She served as online editor for DSNews.com from 2008 through 2011. Prior to joining DS News and the Five Star organization, she managed public relations, marketing, and media relations initiatives for several B2B companies in the financial services, technology, and telecommunications industries. She also wrote for retail and nonprofit organizations upon graduating from Texas A&M University with degrees in journalism and English.
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