The performance of first-lien mortgages declined in the first quarter of 2021, with 94.2% of mortgages included being current and performing at the end of the quarter, down from 96.5% a year earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the regulator of national banks said Monday.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Mortgage Metrics Report showed that 4.6% of mortgages were seriously delinquent – including mortgages that were 60 or more days past due and all mortgages held by bankrupt borrowers whose payments are 30 or more days past due. This was down from the 5.2% seriously delinquent mortgages reported in the fourth quarter of 2020 but up from 1.4% a year ago.
The report, based on data on 24% of all residential mortgage debt outstanding, also showed a 5.6% increase in new foreclosures from the previous quarter but a 95.8% decrease from a year ago. “Events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including foreclosure moratoriums, have significantly affected these metrics,” the report said.
Also:
- Servicers completed 47,773 mortgage modifications in the first quarter of 2021, up 16.4% from the previous quarter.
- Of total modifications, 55.3% reduced borrowers’ monthly payments, and 27,503, or 57.6%, were “combination modifications” – those which included multiple actions affecting affordability and sustainability of the loan, such as an interest rate reduction and a term extension.