The Obama Administration’s foreclosure mitigation programs continue to assist million of homeowners as the industry continues to remain robust.
As a result, the Making Home Affordable Program assisted more than 1.8 homeowners since its inception in 2009, according to the latest housing scorecard report.
As of September, more than 1.2 million homeowners received permanent modification through the Home Affordable Modification Program, saving homeowners $547 on their mortgage payments each month — an estimated $22.9 billion monthly savings to date.
“The Administration’s Making Home Affordable program continues to provide assistance to struggling homeowners, with more than 1.2 million homeowners receiving permanent modifications through HAMP,” said Treasury assistant secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad.
He added, “In addition, the standards set through the program have helped change the industry and helped millions more avoid foreclosure.”
The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the market, with Hope Now lenders offering families and individuals more than 3.8 million proprietary modifications through August.
In September, 72% of eligible non-agency mortgages benefited from principal reduction through HAMP.
Homeowners currently in HAMP permanent modifications with some form of principal reduction were granted an estimated $12.1 billion in principal reduction.
More than 225,000 homeowners exited their homes through a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure with assistance from the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program.
Additionally, more than 120,000 second lien modifications were completed through the Second Lien Modification Program.
HAMP modifications continue to exhibit lower delinquency and re-default rates than industry modifications as a result of the program’s design.
The longer a homeowner remains in HAMP, the more likely they will keep up their mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Payment reduction is a strong driver of permanent modification stability, the Administration noted.
For instance, of modifications seasoned 24 months, only 16.2% with a monthly payment reduction greater than 50% were disqualified due to missing three payments.
By contrast, those modifications with a payment reduction of 20% or less had a disqualification rate of 41.7%.
The 15 metropolitan areas with the highest HAMP activity included Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Cali.; New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla.; and Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI.
The top three servicers for September were Bank of America (BAC), CitiMortgage (C) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
