Even so, the population is down 6% from the same time last month, reflecting an uptick in the monthly rate of improvement from last week’s 5.4%. As of June 22, 2.06 million (3.9%) homeowners remain in COVID-19 related forbearance plans including 2.3% of GSE, 6.9% of FHA/VA and 4.6% of Portfolio/PLS loans.

Weekly declines among GSE (-10,000) and FHA/VA (-7,000) forbearance plans were offset by an 18,000 rise among portfolio and privately held mortgages.

Starts edged lower this week and were 7% below the previous 4-week average. Likewise, removals hit their lowest level in five weeks and extension activity was down as well.

That said, more than 300,000 plans are still scheduled for quarterly reviews between now and next Wednesday, which could lead to more exits. We should all be expecting more activity one way or another as we near the 4th of July.