FHFA: April Loan Modifications Fell, Delinquencies Rose
July 15 2009 - 11:43AM
Dow Jones News
As the Obama Administration prepared to launch its highly
anticipated mortgage modification plan in April, the number of
loans reworked by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell while
delinquencies and short sales rose, the agencies' regulator
reported Wednesday.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said completed loan
modifications at the pair - which hold about 30 million residential
mortgages - dropped 12% as the government began to focus its
efforts on the Obama Administration effort.
The FHFA also said completed short sales and deeds in lieu leapt
15% to a level that is more than triple its volume a year
earlier.
Still, delinquencies continued climbing with an additional
71,700, approximately 7%, becoming at least 60 days late in
April.
Foreclosure starts, meanwhile, fell 3% from the previous month
as servicers waited to determine which borrowers would be eligible
for the administration's incentive-based anti-foreclosure plan.
-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629;
meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com