The number of U.S. homeowners in forbearance shrunk during the last week of April, sustaining a 10-week trend of borrowers who enrolled in a forbearance program due to the financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic exiting at a faster rate than expected.

The measure of loans in forbearance in servicer portfolios dropped to 4.36 percent for the week ending May 2, an 11-point basis point decrease from the 4.47 percent reported the week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Nearly all “investor types” saw a drop in forbearance for the week ending May 2, as Ginnie Mae loans fell by 20 basis points to 5.82 percent, while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans decreased another 10 basis points, reaching 2.32 percent.

Independent mortgage bank servicers also experienced a decline in forbearance, hitting 4.58 percent, but private label securities and portfolio loans stayed at 8.55 percent. Depositories, however, saw a 15-point basis decrease with only a 4.47 percent share of loans in forbearance.

“This 10th week of decreases reflected a faster rate of exits and a steady, low level of new requests,” Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist, said. “Homeowners who have exited forbearance and been able to take up their original payment again are performing at almost the same rate as the overall mortgage servicing portfolio.”

Roughly 25.3 percent number of forbearance exits from June 1, 2020 through May 2, 2021 represent borrowers who still made monthly mortgage payments during the forbearance period. But the majority of forbearance exits, or 26.9 percent, represent homeowners who need some form of loan deferral or partial claim.

Another 14.8 percent of borrowers who exited forbearance programs are still unable to make monthly payments on time.

The association estimated that 2.2 million American homeowners are still enrolled in some form of a forbearance program, suggesting that there is a heated urgency for additional relief.

“More than 47 percent of borrowers in forbearance extensions are past the 12-month mark as of the end of April,” said Fratantoni. “Many homeowners continue to struggle and are falling farther behind on their obligations each month.”

The MBA’s report comes as the White House set aside $10 billion from President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion rescue bill for homeowners to help with housing-related payments like mortgage, taxes, utilities, insurance and homeowners association dues, which was incorporated into the same law that sent eligible Americans $1,400 stimulus payments and unemployed workers $300 weekly benefits.

The Biden administration reported that one in five renters are behind on rent, while more than 10 million homeowners are struggling to make mortgage payments.

Rachel Bucchino is a reporter at the National Interest. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill.