On Friday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., allowed the Biden administration’s newest eviction moratorium to remain in place, denying a request from various landlord associations to block it. She ruled that the freeze is illegal but that an appellate decision from the spring kept her from blocking the moratorium because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention likely possessed the authority to impose an eviction ban in the name of public health. The new order will buy time for the distribution of some of the more than $45 billion in rental assistance that has been approved but not yet used. The U.S. Treasury Dept. has said that only about $3 billion of the first slice of $25 billion had been distributed through June.
The Mortgage Bankers Association, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae all reported last week that the number of homeowner loans in forbearance fell again. MBA reported that 1.7 million homeowners were still in forbearance plans, a dip to 3.40 percent, and the share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance fell five basis points to 1.74 percent. The enrollment period for forbearance will close at the end of September.
Interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages rose 2 basis points on Monday to 3.05 percent, while the 5/1 ARM rose 1 basis point to 3.07 percent and 15-year mortgages remained static at 2.33 percent.
Sources: CNN, The Hill, USA Today, SupremeCourt.gov, Housing Wire, CNET
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