Housing strengthens while mortgage forbearance continues decline

Why it matters: The numbers show the continued strength of the housing market, as mortgages have jumped and applications for the government's payment suspension program have tailed off since May.

• It also highlights a growing divide between the wealthy and other Americans.

What they're saying: “Almost half of borrowers remaining in forbearance are now in an extension of the original term, while the remainder are in their initial forbearance plan," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s chief economist.

• "The pace of new forbearance requests remains quite low compared to earlier in the crisis, but we are watching carefully for any increases due to either the pick-up in COVID-19 cases or the cessation of enhanced unemployment insurance benefits at the end of this month.”

Of note: MBA’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey covers the period from July 6 through July 12 and represents 75% of the first-mortgage servicing market (37.3 million loans).