Loan Modifications Down In First Quarter

By Kyle Chezum Updated on 9/25/2013

According to HOPE NOW, a non-government mortgage support group promoting foreclosure prevention, March’s data on mortgage modifications show a decline of 31% with 207,000 in permanent modifications from 2011’s first quarter numbers.

Close to 147,000 of the modifications were proprietary. About 77% or 113,000 of proprietary modifications were reduced principal and interest payments. 105,000 or 72% of the proprietary modification were reduced principal and interest payments by 10% or more, by far the majority. 90% of the proprietary modifications were fixed-rate with a fixed period of five or more years.

The 60,225 modifications remaining were completed under HAMP, which has been showing a decline over the last six months, this years first quarter down from last years first quarter numbers at 90,536.

Also according to HOPE NOW, foreclosures showed and improvement in the first quarter, down 8% from last years numbers. Foreclosure sales down 4% from last years first quarter, and delinquencies of 60 or more days down 7%.