October 24, 2012 (Shirley Allen)
Mortgage servicers completed less proprietary loan modifications in August than they did in July but still remained at elevated levels 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 59,459 homeowners received permanent, proprietary loan modifications in August, down 9.9 percent from the 66,002 loan modifications in July.
Of the proprietary loan modifications completed in August, eighty-two percent (48,524) included reduced monthly principal and interest payments, with 71 percent (42,388) receiving a reduction of more than 10 percent. In addition, ninety-three percent (55,531) of the loan modifications received fixed interest rate loans of five years or more.
Loan modifications through the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) remained at about the same levels seen for the previous two quarters.
Short sales climbed higher than the previous month as a total of 39,559 short sales were completed in August compared to a revised 36,230 in July.
Monthly foreclosure starts jumped during August following July’s 4.9 percent increase. Foreclosure starts increased 14.2 percent from July, climbing from 164,593 to 187,941.
Completed foreclosure sales also jumped, increasing from 63,527 in July to 71,149 in August.
The number of homeowners that were at least 60 days or more past due continued to decline, falling from 2.471 million loans in July to 2.421 million in August.
Tags: HOPE NOW, private sector alliance, mortgage servicers, loan modifications, fixed rate mortgages, delinquencies, proprietary modifications, foreclosure starts, foreclosure sales
Source:
HOPE NOW
