About 39,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifications from mortgage servicers during October, an increase of about 15% compared to the approximately 34,000 completed in September, according to HOPE NOW, a voluntary, private-sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and nonprofit counselors.
Of the permanent loan modifications completed, about 29,000 were through proprietary programs while 10,023 were completed via the Home Affordable Modification Program.
Altogether, about 157,000 loan modifications, short sales, deeds-in-lieu and workout plans were completed in October. Workouts continue to outpace foreclosures four to one.
In October, HOPE NOW started receiving data from an additional servicer going back to January. This will affect all previous data reports for 2014, the organization says in a release.
There were about 65,000 foreclosure starts in October, a decrease of about 15% compared to the 77,000 recorded in September.
There were about 39,000 completed foreclosure sales for the month, up 10% compared to the 35,000 reported in September.
For comparison, in October 2013, there were about 101,000 foreclosure starts and about 51,000 foreclosure sales.
There were approximately 1.91 million serious delinquencies (60 days or more past due) in October, a decrease of 2.3% compared to the approximately 1.96 million recorded in September.
There were approximately 10,400 short sales completed in October, an increase of 8% compared to the approximately 9,700 recorded in September.
There were approximately 2,300 deeds-in-lieu completed in October, an increase of 7% compared to the 2,200 logged in September.
‘Loan modifications and total workout solutions continued at a steady pace in the month of October,’ says Eric Selk, executive director, of HOPE NOW, in the release. ‘We still see these solutions outpacing foreclosure sales by a large margin. In fact, the number of completed foreclosure sales has remained flat for most of 2014. This is further evidence of a housing recovery nationwide.’
Selk points out that during 2014, HOPE NOW, in partnership with the Making Home Affordable program, held borrower outreach events in nine markets, in addition to events with Congressman Patrick Murphy of Florida and Congressman Denny Heck of Washington.
‘While housing improves on a national level, there are still pockets of the country that need extra attention as they have not reached an acceptable level of recovery,’ Selk says. ‘As we head into 2015, HOPE NOW has tailored its outreach planning around these markets. We also plan to actively engage local elected officials, community leaders and nonprofit partners in these markets so that they have a comprehensive model for community stabilization going forward.’
