Mortgage lenders are preparing for the biggest wave of delinquencies in history. If the plan to buy time works, they may avert an even worse crisis: Mass foreclosures and mortgage market mayhem.
Lenders have reduced their holdings of foreclosed one- to four-unit family residences to roughly $2.6 billion of homes, down from more than $14 billion in 2010. Economists expect the trend to continue, but there are red flags to keep an eye on.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson appeared not to recognize a commonly known real estate term during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
With few foreclosed homes left to pick up on the cheap, the biggest landlords are buying, or building, new single-family homes to pad their portfolios; these properties could eventually show up as collateral in rental bonds.
