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As of February 2, there were still another 47,000 plans with January 31 expiration dates. As servicers review those plans for extension or removal, we could see some further, modest declines over the next few days.

Declines were seen across investor classes, with the largest seen among FHA/VA forbearances (-23,000 / -2%), followed by a 12,000 (-1.3%) decline in GSE forbearances and a 10,000 (-1.4%) improvement in plans among portfolio-held, and privately securitized, loans.

However, despite the strong weekly numbers, overall improvement continues to be limited. The total number of loans in active forbearance is down just 42,000 (-1.5%) from last month. As of February 2, 2.72 million homeowners (5.1%) remain in active COVID-19-related forbearance plans.

While this is the smallest that group has been since late April, volumes have been essentially stuck in the 2.72 million to 2.81 million range since early November. As we move toward the middle of February, keep in mind the trend of mid-and late month increases in active forbearance plans.

Looking ahead, some 390,000 plans are set to expire at the end of this month. This represents perhaps the last opportunity for moderate improvement in forbearance volumes before the first wave of plans reach their currently scheduled 12-month expirations at the end of March.