December 20, 2012 (Shirley Allen)

The number of proprietary loan modifications completed by the nation’s mortgage servicers soared in October, along with mortgage delinquencies, according to HOPE NOW, the voluntary, private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and non-profit counselors.

Using a three month rolling average, a total of 72,580 homeowners received permanent, proprietary loan modifications in October, up 19.8 percent from the 60,595 loan modifications in September.

Of the proprietary loan modifications completed in October, eighty-seven percent (62,956) included reduced monthly principal and interest payments, with 81 percent (58,875) receiving a reduction of more than 10 percent. In addition, eighty-nine percent (64,866) of the loan modifications received fixed interest rate loans of five years or more.

Short sales increased by more than 13 percent from the previous month with a total of 38,518 short sales completed in October compared to 33,997 in September.

Monthly foreclosure starts fell even further during October following September’s 19 percent drop. Foreclosure starts declined by 24.3 percent from September, falling from 150,010 to 113,555.

Completed foreclosure sales posted an increase, climbing from 62,645 in September to 71,080 in October.

The number of homeowners that were at least 60 days or more past due increased during the month, jumping from 2.462 million loans in September to 2.544 million in October.

Tags: HOPE NOW, private sector alliance, mortgage servicers, loan modifications, fixed rate mortgages, delinquencies, proprietary modifications, foreclosure starts, foreclosure sales

Source:
HOPE NOW