An estimated 1.76 million mortgages were modified last year

Mortgage loan servicers negotiated 1.76 million permanent loan modifications for homeowners last year, but more than two-thirds of them were completed in-house and were not part of the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

A year-end report Wednesday from Hope Now — a private-sector group of mortgage servicers, investors, insurers and nonprofit counselors — showed that mortgage servicers arranged 1.24 million permanent modifications, compared with the 512,712 modifications under the government’s more rigorous program. In 2009, more than half of the loan modifications made were through the Home Affordable Modification Program.

It’s unclear how many of those who received permanent modifications from mortgage servicers during 2010 are still current. On Monday, the Treasury Department said 1 in 5 homeowners who received a permanent Home Affordable Modification Program modification during 2009’s final quarter was at least 60 days delinquent at the end of 2010.

In an indication of the serious difficulties that lie ahead for consumers and the housing market this year, the number of consumers who were at least 60 days behind on their mortgage totaled 2.87 million in December. Still, 60-day loan delinquencies are 30% lower than they were at the end of 2009.

Hope Now’s data also showed a significant fourth-quarter drop in foreclosure starts and sales compared with the third quarter, but that is largely the result of mortgage servicers temporarily suspending foreclosure actions while they and states investigated their back-office procedures.