FHFA extends moratorium on evictions, foreclosures for second time
The measures are intended to help people at risk of losing their homes during the pandemic
Coronavirus-related moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures will be extended, The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday
People with federally-backed mortgages are now protected from evictions and foreclosures through at least Aug. 31. The policy, part of the CARES Act, was initially set to expire in May, but was extended June 30. This is the second extension of the relief policy.
"To protect borrowers and renters during the pandemic we are extending the Enterprises' foreclosure and eviction moratorium,” FHFA director Mark Calabria said in a statement. “During this national health emergency no one should worry about losing their home.”
The policy applies to single-family mortgages only.
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The agency said it will continue to monitor the virus and update its policies as needed. The announcement comes as a handful of U.S. states are experiencing their highest new confirmed cases on record as state economies reopen.
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But the slow return to a sense of normalcy throughout the country has shed some light on the state of the housing market – including some early positive signs.
Many major cities around the U.S. experienced an uptick in homebuyer interest in May, for example, creating bidding wars for available properties.
The rate at which people are putting their mortgage payments on pause has declined for eight consecutive weeks.
Other data even shows that the amount of Americans with forbearance plans has actually begun to decline.
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There could be more positive news on the horizon for the housing market, as the U.S. economy added a shocking 2.5 million nonfarm payroll positions in May and the unemployment rate fell. Wall Street had expected a loss of millions of additional positions as well as an uptick in the read on unemployment.