Economy

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has promised to take care of advances on principal and interest payments for coronavirus forbearances after four months, but servicers remain concerned about other responsibilities.

The FHFA will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for a limited time, to purchase loans for which the borrower has sought to postpone payments because of the economic effects of the coronavirus.

Mortgage fraud risk plummeted in the first quarter of 2020 amid historically low mortgage rates and a boom of refinances, but the coronavirus could create a new set of risks, according to CoreLogic.

Efforts to calm lenders’ fears about coronavirus-related forbearance may not offset tightening standards, and the FHA is less likely to boost volume than it was during the financial crisis.

The agency said it is aligning policies for Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans in forbearance so that servicers are only responsible for advancing four months of missed payments.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator is confronting a fresh crisis for the U.S. housing market: The companies won't buy recently issued loans that were made to borrowers who already can't afford their monthly payments because of coronavirus.

Surging unemployment from COVID-19 shutdowns brought a rapidly rising tide of forbearance requests, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

As the nation struggles with the coronavirus, now is not the time to make major revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a mild fluctuation in the Savannah, Ga., area real estate market, but many people are still inking closing contracts. At the same time. local industry leaders and agents are turning to technology to help them find their forever homes.

Many El Paso, Texas, homebuilders are opening model homes only for appointments, or in other ways limiting access to the homes, which for years have been their best selling tool. Home construction continues.