Photographer: Scott McIntyre / Bloomberg
Photographer: Scott McIntyre / Bloomberg
Miami and New York, deviating from the economic fallout of Covid 19, lead the US into mortgage abuse.
Nearly 14% of mortgage lenders in Miami were at least 30 days behind on payments in May, the highest among the 10 largest metropolitan areas analyzed by data provider CoreLogic Inc. It was followed by New York at 12%, Las Vegas at 10.5% and Houston at 10%.
Large cities have been hit hardest by the shutdowns that went into effect in March to curb the spread of the virus. That hit hard-hitting restaurants, bars and hotel workers in particular, with tourism in areas like South Florida and Manhattan disappearing overnight.
“The national unemployment rate grew from a 50-year low in February 2020, to an 80-year high in April,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic, in Tuesday’s report. “With the sudden loss of income, many homeowners are struggling to stay on top of their mortgage loans, resulting in a jump in non-payment.”
Nationally, 7.3% of mortgage lenders were at some stage of crime, including those in the federal compensation program, allowing homeowners in difficulty during the pandemic to delay payments up to 12 months. A year ago, the delinsquency was 3.6%, CoreLogic said.
The seriously erratic rate, which means lenders are at least 90 days late, rose slightly to 1.5%, the first annual increase since November 2010, according to the report. Nothaft expects the rate to double by the end of 2021 without additional government support.
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