An estimated 75,968 homeowners received permanent, affordable loan modifications from mortgage servicers during August, according to new data released by HOPE NOW. This brings the total number of permanent loan modifications since 2007 to 5.75 million.
During August, proprietary loan modifications that included fixed interest rates of five years or more accounted for 93% (55,531) of the month's total. Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest monthly payments accounted for 82% (48,524) of the total. Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest payments of more than 10% accounted for 71% (42,388) of the total.
HOPE NOW adds that there were 39,559 short sales, 71,149 foreclosure sales and 187,941 foreclosure starts in August.
‘The cumulative efforts of many different parties have made a significant difference in preventing foreclosures where possible,’ says Faith Schwartz, executive director of HOPE NOW. ‘Without the collaboration of industry, non-profits and our government, we would not have 5.75 million loan modifications for homeowners or over 115,000 total permanent solutions for the month of August.’