Foreclosures

The FHFA and FHA both announced for the second time that they were delaying the freeze to protect borrowers and renters during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some lawmakers fear that when forbearance plans and enhanced unemployment coverage expire, the consequences for mortgage borrowers still affected by the pandemic will be severe.

The policy comes more than a month after a different agency issued similar guidance for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In addition to the potential wave of mortgage defaults resulting from coronavirus-driven forbearances, hurricane season could put nearly 7.4 million homes worth $1.8 trillion at risk.

But the number of foreclosures and zombie properties may spike after the moratorium ends on June 30.

Forecasts about the pandemic's impact on the mortgage market have grown less dire after forbearance requests by homeowners nearly leveled off in the first half of May.

A Democratic measure to freeze foreclosures and auto repossessions through the coronavirus crisis while expanding eligibility for loan forbearance is getting strong pushback from banks and credit unions, which complain it would constrain credit.

The global hospitality industry is facing the worst downturn in its history, and New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., is poised for a painful recovery.

The agency's announcement came one day after the agency said it would provide borrowers struggling to stay current with an additional payment deferral option.

By the end of the first quarter, the number of borrowers 30 days late on their mortgage increased by 59 basis points.