As COVID spreads, economists predict trouble for mortgage industry
July 7, 2020
In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire covers Goldman Sachs’ warning that the U.S. will suffer economic consequences for not containing COVID-19.
For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:
The U.S. has failed to contain the COVID-19 virus, alone among developed economies, and will suffer the economic consequences, Goldman Sachs economists said in a report issued on Independence Day.
“Over the last few weeks, the covid situation in the U.S. has worsened significantly to the point where the U.S. is now a notable outlier among advanced economies,” the report said. “Other advanced economies show that it is clearly feasible to resume economic life to or beyond current U.S. levels without triggering a spike in virus cases.”
Instead, the virus in the U.S. is spiraling out of control, the report said. In part, it blamed the lack of national leadership – what it called a “bottom-up approach.” The resultant pull-back in consumer spending, which accounts for about three-quarters of U.S. GDP, will likely cause job losses and a steeper recession than expected, the economists said.
“The U.S. took a more bottom-up approach to reopening than most countries, with policy set mostly at the state and city level, and there were bound to be setbacks in at least a few parts of the country as the economy reopened,” the report said.
Following the main story, HousingWire covers a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta that indicates the danger of mortgage forbearances turning into foreclosures is rising as COVID-19 infections surge, and an announcement from Zillow that it will resume buying homes via Zillow Offers in five more markets, bringing the total to 20 out of 24 markets.
The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.
HousingWire articles covered in this episode:
