Last week, real estate industry stakeholders gathered to discuss new research on how COVID shutdowns, job losses and societal shifts will impact the U.S. housing market in the long term.
Guided by new research from the National Fair Housing Alliance and the National Community Stabilization Trust, a new comprehensive report looks at lessons learned from the Great Recession’s impact on the housing market and puts forth recommendations to provide great stability for the industry and homeowners alike.
Of the recommendations outlined, as noted by the National Association of Realtors:
Policies that improve people’s outcomes:
- Increase access to COVID mortgage forbearances
- Give borrowers the post-forbearance options best suited for their circumstances
- Encourage communication between borrowers and mortgage servicers
- Ensure the Homeowner Assistance Fund meets its goals
- Support alternatives to foreclosure, such as short sales, for those who need them
- Prevent the pandemic from negatively affecting consumer credit scores
- Allow borrowers to access new mortgages after forbearance and foreclosure
- Eliminate forbearance penalties that decrease access to credit
Policies that improve property outcomes:
- Prioritize homeownership and neighborhood stabilization in distressed and REO sales
- Properly maintain REO properties in all neighborhoods
- Prevent zombie foreclosures and aggressively address vacancy problems
NAR notes that by preventing unnecessary foreclosures and home loss, maintaining access to credit, ensuring vacant properties do not blight communities, and leveling the playing field for owner-occupants to purchase homes, the housing community can prevent the COVID-19 crisis from devastating homeownership and undermining racial equity in housing markets.
You can read the full report by clicking here.