Plenty of homeowners have been kept safe from foreclosures since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mortgage forbearance and foreclosure moratoriums were put in place due to homeowners losing their jobs due to the pandemic. These programs will eventually come to a halt and everyone wants to know, is a foreclosure spike on the way?
The Economy
When the virus arrived, it was nothing more than a health issue that acted as a domino effect that was triggered around the nation. Vaccinations have alleviated some of the COVID impact, but we still have a good way to go before we all can return to regular activity without wearing mask.
We thought we had the pandemic under control, but then the Delta variant came along, and it was almost like we were starting over again.
The government even pumped major fiscal stimulus packages into the economy, but not as much as we hoped for. According to Economist Dr. James P. Gaines, it will be challenging for the federal government to keep interest rates low during the course of the year. He also mentioned that employment rates are back up, compared to when the pandemic first started.
On a more alarming note, it’s projected that we will see an uptick in inflation for the first two quarters of 2022, and maybe even into the second half. According to economist, there may be another recession, in 2022 or early in 2023.
What do banks do with all these foreclosures?
Banks are in the business of lending money and not holding onto assets. Unfortunately, when a homeowner has defaulted on their loans, that home needs be sold.
An Asset Manager is tasked with getting a REO (real estate owned) agent to list the asset and get it sold. The agent is tasked with offering cash for keys – if the property is still vacated, rekeying the property, making sure the property is checked weekly, insuring the grass is well kept, maintaining trash on the property, and recommending necessary contract work. This is all before the property is listed on the market.
Reopening the economy will take all of 2021, but we’re moving in the right direction with job recovery, and consumer spending picking up. Regardless of what happens the Dallas-Fort Worth market has been resilient, and this is still a great time to begin your home buying or selling process.
