Overall foreclosure prevention activity slowed at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this spring, just ahead of a transition to shorter allowable forbearance periods and more reliance on loan modification.
The government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) completed 17,201 foreclosure prevention actions during the month, representing an 8.7% drop from March's 18,835.
"Foreclosure prevention actions decreased in April, driven primarily by a decrease in forbearance plans, repayment plans, and payment deferrals," the Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a report.
Although foreclosure prevention activity fell in those categories, permanent loan modifications rose 4.7% to 7,484. The report also showed refinancing activity increased.
Loan modifications and new forbearance activity were the only major home-retention actions to post monthly increases.
Payment deferrals fell to 5,729 from 6,537 in March, while completed forbearance plans declined to 2,344 from 3,160 and repayment plans dropped to 1,476 from 1,832. The GSEs initiated 9,395 forbearance plans in April, up from 8,913 the previous month.
The total number of loans in forbearance in outstanding inventory, a separate category, rose to 37,517 from 37,196. Even with the increase, loans in forbearance represented just 0.12% of the GSEs' single-family servicing portfolio, remaining well below pandemic levels.
Home forfeiture activity remained limited, although completed short sales increased to 94 from 66 in March.
Foreclosure starts fell 2.7% to 8,169 in April, while third-party and foreclosure sales increased 3.2% to 1,325. However, that pullback in GSE foreclosure is different from the broader market, as foreclosure starts climbed 17.6% nationally in the first half of 2026,
Fannie and Freddie's loans currently have stronger credit profiles and performance track records than some loans in other parts of the market, such as the ones the Federal Housing Administration insures.
Mortgage performance was generally stable. The 60-plus-day delinquency rate declined to 0.79% from 0.81%, while the serious delinquency rate edged down to 0.58% from 0.59%. Early-stage delinquencies ticked up slightly, with the 30-to-59-day delinquency rate rising to 0.94% from 0.92%, an indicator that servicers should monitor.
The total refinance volume climbed to 96,028 loans in April from 91,593 in March even as the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6.33% from 6.18%. Cash-out refinances accounted for 33% of refinance activity.
However, Optimal Blue's rate-lock data showed cash-out refinance activity slipped the following month, falling 12.8%. Rate-and-term refinance activity was down
Since the start of conservatorship in 2008, the GSEs have completed more than 7.39 million foreclosure prevention actions, with permanent loan modifications accounting for about 38.6%.
