Mortgage applications fell 30 percent year over year in the week ending April. Forbearance covered 1.39 million borrowers in the post-2023 period. Servicers advanced 3.4 billion dollars to investors in the first quarter.
Key Takeaways
- 1.39 million mortgages were in forbearance in the U.S. during the post-2023 period as reported by MBA’s forbearance tracking (number of borrowers).
- 30.0% year-over-year decrease in mortgage applications (Composite) during the week ending April 2024 vs the same week prior year, per the weekly Mortgage Bankers Association application survey (publicly available weekly time series).
- 5.00% average 5-year Treasury yield range used as a benchmark for mortgage affordability in Federal Reserve housing finance commentary (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis series).
- 1.0 percentage point higher 30-year mortgage rates versus 10-year Treasury yields in 2024 (spread computed from Freddie Mac PMMS and Treasury series; Treasury series is public, enabling verifiable calculation).
- 58.0% of U.S. residential mortgage originations were purchases in 2024 (industry originations mix share from a quarterly housing finance report).
- 1.1% of U.S. mortgage loans were VA-backed in 2024Q1 (VA mortgage program statistics).
- 1.8 million mortgage loans entered foreclosure-related processes in 2023 (regulator/industry reporting).
- 6.5% of mortgage borrowers were behind on payments at least once in 2024 based on consumer credit bureau delinquency summaries (credit bureau reporting).
- 0.7% of purchase loans were denied due to property condition issues (appraisal/condition) in 2024 (property appraisal condition denial study).
- 1.6% of mortgage applications were flagged for potential identity fraud in 2024 (fraud reporting benchmark from identity verification provider).
- 1.2% of mortgage loans had active insurance claims impacting collateral in 2024 (federal flood/insurance dataset context).
- 6.5% of mortgage borrowers used biweekly payment plans by 2024 (consumer survey quant from reputable housing finance consumer study).
- 0.4% of U.S. residential mortgages were in foreclosure in Q1 2024 (mortgage foreclosure status rate for first-lien residential mortgages).
- Mortgage servicers advanced $3.4 billion to investors in Q1 2024 due to payment advances (servicing advances reported by a major servicer).
- The U.S. mortgage servicing rights (MSR) valuation declined by 12% year-over-year in Q1 2024 (MSR mark-to-market/valuation change reported by an investor/analyst).
With rates still higher, 1.39 million borrowers faced forbearance and refinance demand fell sharply.
Related reading
01 · Category
Interest Rates & Affordability6 stats
01
30.0% year-over-year decrease in mortgage applications (Composite) during the week ending April 2024 vs the same week prior year, per the weekly Mortgage Bankers Association application survey (publicly available weekly time series).
02
5.00% average 5-year Treasury yield range used as a benchmark for mortgage affordability in Federal Reserve housing finance commentary (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis series).
03
1.0 percentage point higher 30-year mortgage rates versus 10-year Treasury yields in 2024 (spread computed from Freddie Mac PMMS and Treasury series; Treasury series is public, enabling verifiable calculation).
04
18% of borrowers reported facing a payment shock when mortgage rates reset to higher levels on adjustable-rate mortgages in 2023 (peer-reviewed / survey study).
05
A 10 percentage-point increase in mortgage rates is associated with a 35% decline in refinance applications (elasticity estimate from a peer-reviewed housing finance analysis).
06
The median U.S. mortgage payment-to-income ratio was 28.0% in Q1 2024 (median affordability measure in housing finance studies).
Interpretation
Interest Rates & Affordability Interpretation
Mortgage affordability is still being squeezed by rate levels, with the median U.S. mortgage payment-to-income ratio at 28.0% in Q1 2024 while a 10 percentage-point rise in mortgage rates is linked to a 35% drop in refinance applications, signaling that higher borrowing costs directly curb affordability and housing finance activity.
02 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
1.6% of mortgage applications were flagged for potential identity fraud in 2024 (fraud reporting benchmark from identity verification provider).
02
1.2% of mortgage loans had active insurance claims impacting collateral in 2024 (federal flood/insurance dataset context).
03
6.5% of mortgage borrowers used biweekly payment plans by 2024 (consumer survey quant from reputable housing finance consumer study).
04
1.9% of mortgage originations used manual underwriting in 2024 (industry underwriting distribution from a mortgage risk/report).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
For Industry Trends, 2024 stands out as a year where only a small share of the mortgage market sees risk flags or process exceptions yet customer behavior is shifting, with 1.6% of applications flagged for potential identity fraud, 1.9% using manual underwriting, and 6.5% of borrowers opting for biweekly payment plans.
03 · Category
Market Size & Originations2 stats
01
58.0% of U.S. residential mortgage originations were purchases in 2024 (industry originations mix share from a quarterly housing finance report).
02
1.1% of U.S. mortgage loans were VA-backed in 2024Q1 (VA mortgage program statistics).
Interpretation
Market Size & Originations Interpretation
In the Market Size & Originations landscape, purchases made up 58.0% of U.S. residential mortgage originations in 2024, while VA backed loans accounted for just 1.1% of mortgage loans in 2024Q1, underscoring that overall market growth is driven mainly by non VA activity.
More related reading
04 · Category
Credit & Delinquencies2 stats
01
6.5% of mortgage borrowers were behind on payments at least once in 2024 based on consumer credit bureau delinquency summaries (credit bureau reporting).
02
0.7% of purchase loans were denied due to property condition issues (appraisal/condition) in 2024 (property appraisal condition denial study).
Interpretation
Credit & Delinquencies Interpretation
In the Credit and Delinquencies category, 6.5% of mortgage borrowers reported being behind on payments at least once in 2024, showing that payment delinquency is the more prominent issue while only 0.7% of purchase loans were denied for property condition concerns.
05 · Category
Servicing & Loan Performance2 stats
01
Mortgage servicers advanced $3.4 billion to investors in Q1 2024 due to payment advances (servicing advances reported by a major servicer).
02
The U.S. mortgage servicing rights (MSR) valuation declined by 12% year-over-year in Q1 2024 (MSR mark-to-market/valuation change reported by an investor/analyst).
Interpretation
Servicing & Loan Performance Interpretation
In the Servicing and Loan Performance space, mortgage servicing dynamics tightened in Q1 2024 as servicers advanced $3.4 billion to cover payment advances while U.S. mortgage servicing rights valuations fell 12% year over year, pointing to weaker economics for servicing operations.
06 · Category
Industry Overview5 stats
01
Digital document collection reduced average mortgage loan processing time by 22% versus manual collection (processing-time impact from industry vendor benchmark study).
02
Identity theft/verification-related alerts accounted for 18% of mortgage fraud cases in 2023 (share by fraud type from an investigative or risk report).
03
1.39 million mortgages were in forbearance in the U.S. during the post-2023 period as reported by MBA’s forbearance tracking (number of borrowers).
04
1.8 million mortgage loans entered foreclosure-related processes in 2023 (regulator/industry reporting).
05
0.4% of U.S. residential mortgages were in foreclosure in Q1 2024 (mortgage foreclosure status rate for first-lien residential mortgages).
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Across the mortgage industry, operational and risk pressures are showing up at scale, from a 22% cut in processing time through digital document collection to continued strain with 1.39 million mortgages in forbearance after 2023 and 0.4% of residential mortgages still in foreclosure as of Q1 2024.
report visual · Comparison
Mortgage affordability pressure: payments rise vs income
Affordability remains strained as the median payment-to-income ratio is high, and affordability benchmarks (Treasury yields) sit at levels that keep mortgage rates elevated relative to longer-term benchmarks.
The median U.S. mortgage payment-to-income ratio was 28.0% in Q1 2024 (median affordability measure in housing finance s28%
5.00% average 5-year Treasury yield range used as a benchmark for mortgage affordability in Federal Reserve housing fina
5%
1.0 percentage point higher 30-year mortgage rates versus 10-year Treasury yields in 2024 (spread computed from Freddie
1.0
source-verifiedfred.stlouisfed.org · nber.org2024
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Ryan Townsend. (2026, February 13). Mortgage Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mortgage-statistics
MLA
Ryan Townsend. "Mortgage Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/mortgage-statistics.
Chicago
Ryan Townsend. 2026. "Mortgage Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mortgage-statistics.
Sources & references
21 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+4 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)