DALLAS – The economic impact of the coronavirus could lead to another mortgage crisis.
Foreclosures are expected to skyrocket as people struggle to pay their home loans.
It’s on the horizon and different from 2008 when there was a lot of creative financing and many had little or no equity built up. These are people who have been in their homes but have been financially affected by the pandemic.
The coming months could bring a coming coronavirus mortgage crisis.
“We’re not seeing a ton of foreclosures, which is surprising. But we are forecasting the industry is forecasting an increase in foreclosures,” explained real estate attorney Rachel Kirallah. “These are homeowners that have been in their homes that have been impacted by the pandemic.”
Many people have been laid off. Others are taking pay cuts. Some businesses closed during the rage of COVID-19.
Under the CARES Act and forbearance programs, many people had mortgage payments suspended for a specific period of time.
“A lot of those are coming up on the expiration of those three or four months. And so it’s going to be a really tough time for homeowners who are already delinquent or behind or heading into that direction,” Kirallah said.
Terry Tremaine is president of the Metro Tex Association of Realtors.
“It is totally unbelievable. As properties come on the market, they are sold within days,” he said.
Eight percent of homeowners across North Texas are at least one payment behind on their mortgage. Ten percent are in the Houston area.
“That is the rumor that’s going around. We haven’t seen any foreclosures coming on the market as of yet,” Tremaine said. “But people are being laid off. Mortgage payments are hard to make, so that is a possibility that we will see that in the spring.”
It is, it seems, two extremes.
For some homeowners, it will be a tough year for those who are struggling to make payments.
But for others, it’s a great market with great interest rates.
Both professionals advise you to call your mortgage company if you are falling behind on payments, and make sure you open any mail you receive from your lender.
FOX 4 News is a FOX-owned station serving Dallas-Fort Worth and all of North Texas.
More info on Coronavirus pandemic could lead to another mortgage crisis
- Latin America’s economy will grow this year, but not at pre-COVID-19 levels, IMF says
After a year of making drastic economic decisions to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin America and the Caribbean region is expected to see growth in its economies this year, the ...
- Pandemic reveals health care inequity
As an African American nurse, health care provider, and public health worker, Bobbie Bagley says she has “lived it” from both sides. The “it” being the inequities and systemic racism that exist in the ...
- Can We Build a Better Normal After the Pandemic?
A stronger normal holds the adversity we’re going through now up as a mirror, one that can clarify what we’ve been neglecting all along,” said Zaki, associate professor of psychology in Stanford’s ...
- How New Zealand's Much-Admired COVID-19 Response Helped Fuel a Housing Crisis
Murray Edridge, the head of Wellington City Mission, who helps desperate families and individuals seeking food and shelter, poses for a photo in Wellington, New Zealand, in this undated handout photo.
- Four Ways Covid-19 Has Changed Retirement
The Covid-19 pandemic is triggering a retirement rethink for many Americans. A survey by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) found that about half of Americans are now more concerned ...
- Why Suicides Have Decreased During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Experts say people tend to be more open about their feelings and more supportive of each other during times of crisis.
- With declining childhood vaccination rate, another public health crisis looms after coronavirus pandemic
Another public health challenge lurks on the horizon: preventable diseases like measles, mumps and whooping cough.
- 'Invisibilized': Asian Americans lead in long-term unemployment amid COVID-19 pandemic and hate attacks
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders grapple with the nation's highest rates of long-term unemployment more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered ... “It would be great if the country ...
- Red alert! Covid-19 pandemic leads to ketchup packet shortage, Internet jokes 'sauce another condiment'
It has been an industry standard to provide packets for takeaways and Covid-19 didn't change that practice. Now, however, we could ... Covid pandemic. They'll have to sauce another condiment.
- Coronavirus pandemic casts long shadow over Dutch elections
Dutch voters have plenty of issues to consider in next week's election but one towers over all others: the COVID-19 pandemic ... could become the longest-serving Dutch leader if he wins another ...
- Oxfam warns fallout of coronavirus pandemic will lead to biggest increase in global inequality on record
LONDON — Anti-poverty campaigner Oxfam warned Monday that the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic will lead to the biggest ... By contrast, Oxfam said it could take more than a decade for ...
- Asking banks for help during coronavirus pandemic: What to know
Skipped payments can lead to credit score damage and ... If you can’t make the payments on your federally backed mortgage because of the coronavirus pandemic, for example, you have the right ...
