Paul Centopani

Despite mortgage rates expected to rise modestly in 2021, a bolstered Biden administration stimulus package and COVID-19 vaccination efforts bring promise for economic recovery.

While the annual total marks a 16-year low, the numbers are likely to change dramatically once government moratoria expire, according to Attom Data Solutions.

With limited plan removals due to the holidays, mortgages in coronavirus-related forbearance rose by 15,000, according to Black Knight.

The agency's request for input will shape how mortgages underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac handle appraisals and curb risk.

About 4,400 loans started the foreclosure process in November, alongside 176,000 mortgages in active foreclosure.

With infection rates rising and unemployment claims increasing since Thanksgiving, mortgages in coronavirus-related forbearance rose by 37,000 last week, according to Black Knight.

With coronavirus inoculations underway and government stimulus likely to come, the outlook for next year’s housing market and lending environment grew more optimistic in December.

While 12,000 mortgages exited forbearance, the most borrowers entered forbearance protection in a week since early September, according to Black Knight.

The November foreclosure rate represented an 80% decline from the year before, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Mortgage delinquencies dropped to the lowest level since March but, particularly at the seriously delinquent level, they're still much higher than pre-coronavirus rates, according to Black Knight.

The overall mortgage delinquency rate improved in the third quarter as the economy got healthier while late-stage delinquencies hit a decade high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

While moratoria keep foreclosures low compared to last year's rates, October activity jumped 20% from September, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Growing equity levels increased the share of equity-rich and pulled borrowers out from underwater in the third quarter, according to Attom Data Solutions.

The race enters a complicated phase that could impact financial markets.

With a dearth of inventory, September generated the largest price growth in the housing market since May 2014, according to CoreLogic.

The forbearance rate improved to the a level not seen since early April, but getting back to pre-COVID levels will require employment gains or additional government stimulus measures, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage application fraud risk dropped drastically from 2019 with the spike in refinances, but the fallout from the coronavirus means next year could come with more risk, according to CoreLogic.

A booming housing market contrasts with a slow-to-improve job market, making for lopsided improvement in the number of troubled mortgages, according to numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The overall forbearance rate was under 6% for the first time since April as another large swath of loans fell out of CARES Act coverage, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

As financial distress mounted, 12.4% of mortgagors missed payments across the second and third quarters of 2020 — and it could get worse, according to a study from the Mortgage Bankers Association.