The FHFA reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 129,779 foreclosure prevention actions during the first quarter of 2022.

The FHFA first-quarter 2022 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report also shows that 75% of loan modifications completed in the first quarter reduced borrowers’ monthly payments by more than 20%. The number of refinances decreased amid rising mortgage rates from 1,266,043 in the fourth quarter to 899,518 in the first quarter, according to the report.

Further, the delinquency rate declined from 1.19% to 0.97% at the end of the first quarter. This compares with 5.33% for FHA loans, 3.15% for VA loans, and 2.39% for all loans (industry average), according to the report.

Other highlights from the report include:

• Forbearance. As of March 31, 2022, there were 126,758 loans in forbearance, representing approximately 0.41% of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family conventional book of business, down from 178,019 or 0.59%at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. About 18% of these loans have been on the plan for more than 12 months.

• Mortgage Performance. The 60+ days delinquency rate dropped from 1.34% at the end of the fourth quarter to 1.11% at the end of the first quarter of 2022. The delinquency rates remained higher than pre-coronavirus rates due to the forbearance programs offered to borrowers aff​​​ected by the pandemic.

• Foreclosures. The number of foreclosure starts more than tripled to 20,624 while third-party and foreclosure sales decreased 5% to 3,054 in the first quarter.

• Real Estate Owned Activity & Inventory. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac REO inventory increased 3% from 8,781 in the fourth quarter to 9,048 in the first quarter of 2022, as REO acquisitions outpaced property dispositions. The total number of property acquisitions decreased 15% to 1,480, while dispositions increased 27% to 1,255 during the quarter.