Mortgage Servicers Completed 1.76 Million Loan Modifications for Homeowners in 2010

Industry Has Offered Over 3 Million Permanent Mods in Last Two Years

WASHINGTON, DC – February 2, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — HOPE NOW, the voluntary, private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and non-profit counselors, released its final 2010 loan modification data, which shows that an estimated 1.76 million homeowners received permanent, affordable loan modifications from mortgage servicers in 2010.

The reported data for December shows that, for the year, mortgage servicers completed approximately 1.24 million proprietary loan modifications for homeowners and 512,712 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) modifications (as reported by US Treasury Department), for an estimated total of 1.76 million.

This compares with 1.24 million total loan modifications in 2009, which included 66,938 permanent HAMP loan modifications.

Of particular note in the December 2010 data is that 60+ day delinquencies totaled 2.87 million, which represented a 30% decrease from the December 2009 figure of 4.13 million.

Here are some of the highlights of the 2010 data:

• Total permanent loan modifications were approximately 1.76 million, compared to 1.24 million in 2009.
• Loan modifications with reduced principal and interest payments accounted for approximately 81% (1 million) of all proprietary modifications.
• Fixed-rate modifications (initial fixed period of 5 years or more) accounted for 84% (609,000) of all proprietary modifications.
• Completed foreclosure sales were approximately 1.07 million, compared with 947,000 in 2009.
• 60+ days delinquencies for December 2010 were 2.87 million, which represented a 30% drop since December 2009 (4.13 million).

Faith Schwartz, Executive Director, issued this statement:

“2010 was a very challenging year for the housing market, but HOPE NOW’s data continues to support the fact that significant strides have been made to avail homeowners of all options before going to foreclosure. Our top priority in 2011 will be to advance execution and implementation of these options, while focusing on improving the customer experience for homeowners who are going through the foreclosure prevention process.

The industry was able to offer almost 2 million permanent solutions for homeowners in 2010, which outpaced foreclosure sales of just over one million. We hope that the trend continues going forward as servicers and housing counselors remain committed to achieving sustainable mortgage solutions for atrisk homeowners.

Since 2007, our members have been engaged in a very aggressive homeowner outreach agenda, which has included over one hundred face to face events, a massive letter campaign and participation in the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline, 888-995-HOPE™.

We will continue to participate in large-scale outreach events, along with Treasury, NeighborWorks® America and our local partners, where homeowners have the ability to meet face to face with their servicer. These events will focus on the regions most impacted by foreclosure and delinquency. HOPE NOW, and its partners, recently hosted an event in Las Vegas that saw almost 1,000 families and we are in the final stages of planning for a similar event in San Jose, California in February.

Additionally, our members are always looking for ways to streamline loan modification processes and incorporate innovative technology for faster decisions. To that end, HOPE NOW will continue to support the use of HOPE LoanPort™ and we encourage all servicers and non-profit HUD-approved counseling agencies to participate in this effort for 2011 and beyond.”

HOPE NOW is the industry-created alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, counselors, and other mortgage market participants, brought together by the Financial Services Roundtable, Housing Policy Council and Mortgage Bankers Association, that has developed and is implementing a coordinated plan to help as many homeowners as possible prevent foreclosure and stay in their homes. More info…

For more information go to www.HopeNow.com or call the free Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline at (888) 995-HOPE™.

Media Contacts:
Brad Dwin
(202) 589-1938

Faith Schwartz
(202) 589-2406