The Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest survey showed that the total number of loans now in forbearance increased from 8.46 percent of servicers’ portfolio volume as of May 24 to 8.53 percent as of May 31. According to MBA’s estimate, almost 4.3 million homeowners are now in forbearance plans.

The MBA survey showed mortgages backed by Ginnie Mae again had the largest overall share of loans in forbearance by investor type (11.83 percent). The percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers dropped by 1 basis point to 9.18 percent, while the percentage of loans in forbearance for independent mortgage bank servicers increased to 8.39 percent.

“The overall share of loans in forbearance increased by only 7 basis points compared to the prior week. With the job market beginning to gradually improve, more homeowners are exiting forbearance, and we are seeing declines in forbearance volume among some servicers,” MBA Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni said in a statement. “However, this week’s findings did reveal divergence among servicers. The share of loans in forbearance decreased for depository servicers but continued to increase for IMBs.”

The survey is potentially at odds with a report released by real estate data firm Black Knight June 5 showing the total number of residential mortgages in forbearance plans dropped by a net change of roughly 34,000 for the week ending June 2 – a drop of roughly 43,000 in government-backed mortgages offset by an increase of 9,000 forbearances among mortgages in bank portfolios and private-label securities. Any decrease in the number of mortgages in forbearance would be the first since the coronavirus began. Black Knight estimated 4.73 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.

“While this decline is welcome news,” Black Knight CEO Anthony Jabbour said in a statement, “there are still concerning signs in the data. According to Black Knight’s McDash Flash Payment Tracker, far fewer homeowners in forbearance remitted May payments than did in April. If that trend holds true through the end of the month, the market should be prepared for another likely rise in the delinquency rate for May. Also, expanded unemployment benefits are scheduled to end on July 31. It remains to be seen how that will impact both forbearance requests and overall mortgage delinquencies.”

While a May 20 Lending Tree survey suggested many forbearance applicants had applied for forbearance without needing it, a survey released Tuesday by real estate listings company Apartment List using a much larger sample size concluded that 29 percent of homeowners had either made a partial payment on their mortgage or no payment at all.

The contrasting reports come as a separate MBA analysis showed lenders continue to shrink access to mortgage loans in May. An index that tracks the availability of conventional loans fell 5.7 percent, while one that tracks the availability of government loans decreased by 0.8 percent. Availability of jumbo mortgages decreased by 4.4 percent, while access to conforming mortgages fell by 6.9 percent. Access to loans has fallen substantially from December, but is still nearly 30 percent above March 2012 levels.

“Mortgage lenders in May responded accordingly to the increased risk and uncertainty in the economy. Credit availability continued to decline, with MBA’s overall index now at its lowest level since June 2014,” Kan said in a statement. “There was a reduction in supply across all loan types, driven by further pullback in investors’ appetites for loan programs with low credit scores and high [loan-to-value ratios].”