Coronavirus

As financial hardships mount with the COVID-19 outbreak, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released their plans for mortgage borrowers impacted by the pandemic.

A number of proposals have been floated for debt payment holidays and other types of moratoria, but such approaches offer solutions that are worse than the problems.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday announced she was banning evictions and foreclosures for the next six weeks, adding to her administration's response to the unprecedented crisis caused by COVID-19.

Southern California's 2020 housing market got off to a good start before the pandemic shook the economy in mid-February, CoreLogic figures show, with both prices and home sales up in the six-county region from February 2019 levels.

To address the coronavirus' impact, banks like Truist and Ally and nonbanks like Quicken Loans are assisting communities as well as making adjustments to support their workforce and customers.

FHFA Director Mark Calabria said the health crisis will complicate the release of a proposal establishing new capital requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla., area has been a red-hot housing market with the median price at or above $300,000 for the past year, providing job opportunities for 7,000 real estate agents.

New-home construction exceeded forecasts in February, underscoring momentum in the industry a month before the coronavirus pandemic injected uncertainty into the economy.

The temporary foreclosure moratorium on loans backed by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac comes after lawmakers and housing advocates had pushed for steps to avoid consumers getting booted from their homes.

Mortgage industry technology providers are adjusting their processes to allow for originations to keep flowing through the system as the nation combats the coronavirus.

Real estate agents have canceled professional meetings, seen clients show up in masks, and resorted to fist bumps and elbow nudges instead of their traditional social currency — firm handshakes and longish hugs.

The pandemic has upended staffing plans, sparked concerns about servicers’ capacity to handle the expected crush of missed payments, and even raised questions about their ability to stay afloat.

The Trump administration is considering a plan to allow homeowners whose income was cut by the coronavirus to delay mortgage payments. Still to be decided is a mechanism for borrowers to catch up.

Ramifications of a global pandemic are starting to ripple through the Southern California housing market as virtual home tours replace in-person showings and homeowners cancel open houses to avoid coming face-to-face with potentially infected home shoppers.

Mortgage real estate investment trusts are taking stock of their financial ability to respond to market shocks and other concerns stemming from the coronavirus.

Mortgage applications to purchase new homes took a small step back in February from record levels during the previous month, but further positive momentum could be blunted by the coronavirus.

The central bank said it was establishing the Commercial Paper Funding Facility to "support the flow of credit to households and businesses."

Homebuilder sentiment fell to a four-month low in March as expectations of future sales dimmed amid a virus outbreak that threatens to dent activity across the industry and cause a recession.

Canadian policymakers are escalating their efforts to backstop the nation’s financial system and ensure banks have plenty of room to continue lending through the coronavirus crisis.

With small businesses feeling the financial scourge of the coronavirus, bridge loans could be the direction they turn to keep things afloat.