In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire covers a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association that indicates the forbearance rate for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have dropped below 5%.For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:The forbearance rate for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dropped to 4.94% in the first week of August, the first time it’s been below 5% since April, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report on Monday.The rate for mortgages backed by government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, fell 25 basis points from the prior week, according to the report.Overall, the forbearance rate fell 23 basis points from the prior week to 7.21%, representing 3.6 million mortgages, MBA said. The forbearance share for loans in Ginnie Mae securities – meaning, mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – fell 52 basis points to 9.54%, though some of that decline stems from delinquent loans being sold off and reported in the private portfolio category, the report said. Following the main story, HousingWire covers a study from Redfin that suggests new interest from city dwellers is raising home prices in rural areas and a joint report from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo that claims America’s western region is showing the most promise as builder confidence returned to a record high across the country.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac forbearance rate drops below 5%New interest from city dwellers raising home prices in rural areasThe West showing the most promise as builder confidence returns to record high