by Calculated Risk on 3/02/2021 01:32:00 PM

From the CFPB: New Report From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Finds Over 11 Million Families At Risk Of Losing Housing

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report that warns of widespread evictions and foreclosures once federal, state, and local pandemic protections come to an end, absent additional public and private action. Over 11 million families are behind on their rent or mortgage payments: 2.1 million families are behind at least three months on mortgage payments, while 8.8 million are behind on rent. Homeowners alone are estimated to owe almost $90 billion in missed payments. The last time this many families were behind on their mortgages was during the Great Recession.

“We have very little time to prevent millions of families from losing their homes to eviction and foreclosure,” warns CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio. “At the CFPB, we are working hard to help homeowners and renters as the U.S. begins to turn a painful crisis, caused by the pandemic, into a robust recovery. We know small landlords are struggling, too, with many dipping into savings or using credit cards to make it through the pandemic. We want everyone—homeowners and renters, landlords, and mortgage servicers—to have the tools they need now to avoid unnecessary evictions and foreclosures.”

Here is the report: Housing insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic

CR Notes: Most of the homeowners in forbearance will be able to restructure their loans once they are able to return to work, and I do not expect a large number of foreclosures. 

However, a large number of renters are at risk of eviction once the moratoriums end.