January 2025 Highlights - Foreclosure Prevention
The Enterprises' Foreclosure Prevention Actions:
- The Enterprises completed 20,440 foreclosure prevention actions in January 2025, bringing the total to 7,118,902 since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008. Approximately 39 percent of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.
- There were 5,600 permanent loan modifications in January 2025, bringing the total to 2,752,532 since the conservatorships began in September 2008.
- Approximately 70 percent of loan modifications in January involved extend term only. Modifications with principal forbearance accounted for 29 percent of all loan modifications during the month.
- The number of borrowers who received payment deferrals after completing a forbearance plan increased from 7,342 in December 2024 to 8,844 in January 2025.
- Initiated forbearance plans increased from 9,223 in December 2024 to 12,581 in January 2025. However, the total number of loans in forbearance decreased from 50,873 at the end of December 2024 to 48,153 at the end of January 2025, representing approximately 0.16 percent of the total loans serviced and 9.1 percent of the total delinquent loans.
The Enterprises' Mortgage Performance:
- The 30-59 day delinquency rate decreased to 0.90 percent while the serious delinquency rate increased slightly to 0.59 percent at the end of January 2025.
The Enterprises' Foreclosures:
- Third-party and foreclosure sales rose 11 percent to 1,041 while foreclosure starts increased 5 percent to 8,198 in January 2025.
January 2025 Highlights - Refinance Activities
- Total refinance volume decreased in January 2025 as mortgage rates decreased from November to December but remained above the September 2024 level of 6.18 percent, which represented the lowest level reached since September of 2022. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased from 6.72 percent in December 2024 to 6.96 percent in January 2025.
- The percentage of cash-out refinances increased from 56 percent in December 2024 to 57 percent in January 2025 after rising as high as 82 percent over the last three years. Higher mortgage rates have reduced the opportunities for non-cash-out borrowers to refinance at lower rates and lower their monthly payments.