Distressed

But the percentage of loans in workout no longer current increased in April, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

The bill would provide up to 18 months of relief to homeowners still financially impacted from the storm and would apply retroactively to payments missed since September 2021.

Consumers are receiving demand letters on loans they have not had any communication about in at least 10 years, the regulator said.

Also, a rate drop opened up some refinancing options in March, and prepayments experienced an extraordinary short-term rise.

Economic turbulence affected borrowers during the quarter and will likely impact their ability to refinance maturing loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The increases are partly due to the fact that the pandemic-related property backlog is finally moving forward, but it also stems from recent economic weakness.

The agency added increased emphasis on loss mitigation and special purpose credit programs following heightened calls for more participation in the latter from a minority trade group.

The decision in the Empire State's highest court could expand the options for owners who never received required notifications in that jurisdiction, and potentially others nationwide.

Home loan servicers are watching other indicators like chargeoff rates in the auto loan and credit card sector for signs of trouble.

Completions also declined in the short-term, but annually they rose sharply, suggesting that the lifting of some pandemic restrictions is allowing them to proceed.

The company was accused of not providing pandemic relief to at least 160 private mortgage borrowers in the state.

The new policy will provide more leeway to distressed borrowers, whose ability to get more affordable terms for their loans has been hamstrung by higher rates.

Current forbearance volumes have returned to pre-COVID levels among loans held at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a Fed study found.

New starts increased for the fourth month in a row, but are still below pre-pandemic numbers, according to Black Knight's preliminary figures.

This line item has risen to its highest point since 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Payment suspensions will be utilized for other purposes but it remains to be seen whether its application in the pandemic will permanently broaden servicers' use of the strategy.

This represents a gradual rise in activity, not the tsunami that many feared would take place as COVID-era moratoriums wind down, Auction.com said.

The 51 basis point increase was inevitable after the late payment rate reached a record low in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Despite slowing originations, the shift to a purchase-oriented market contributed to growth, while outstanding HELOC amounts also surged to its largest in over a decade, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found.

New starts surged 75% compared to a year ago, but repossessions saw their first decline in one-and-a-half years, according to Attom.