FHFA extends foreclosure and eviction moratorium

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend the moratoria on foreclosures and evictions until “at least” Jan. 31, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday.

“Extending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s foreclosure and eviction moratoriums through January 2021 keeps borrowers safe during the pandemic," said Director Mark Calabria. “This extension gives peace of mind to the more than 28 million homeowners with an Enterprise-backed mortgage.”

The foreclosure moratorium applies only to single-family mortgages that are backed by one of the GSEs. The eviction moratorium pertains to properties acquired by either of the GSEs via foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions.

The FHFA estimates that the two agencies will shoulder costs of between $1.1 billion and $1.7 billion as a result of the extensions. That’s in addition to the $6 billion already incurred due to the moratoria that began shortly after the onset of the pandemic.

While Calabria characterized the extension as a necessary move, the measure has at least one critic in Richard Kruse, a partner at foreclosure auction house, Gryphon USA. Kruse argues that the extension “just delays inevitable pain.

“Continuing with the moratoriums indefinitely,” Kruse added, “will significantly disrupt future economic performances as home payoff and credit card balances grow, leading to more debt issues and bankruptcy increases.”

The amount of foreclosures has remained low thanks to the FHFA’s measures, but they are increasing. In October, there were just 11,673 foreclosure filings, compared to 55,197 in October 2019, marking a 79% decrease year-over-year, according to Attom Data Solutions. However, the October total was up from 9,707 logged in September.

Rick Sharga, executive vice president at Attom Data company RealtyTrac, credited a larger increase in distressed mortgages to zombie properties that predated the pandemic, and homes that were already in stages of default.

Auctions of completed zombie foreclosures — which aren’t covered by the moratorium — ticked up 24% in September from August, but the total was a 78% decrease from the amount auctioned in September 2019, according to data from Auction.com. The company said there is a “growing backlog” of mortgages that are already in the foreclosure process or are delinquent and not in a forbearance program.