Redfin’s Daryl Fairweather on how the housing market will avoid a foreclosure crisis

Today’s HousingWire Daily features an exclusive interview with Redfin’s Daryl Fairweather. In this episode, Daryl discusses why she believes the U.S. housing market is likely to withstand a wave of foreclosures once mortgage forbearance comes to an end.

Here is a small preview of today’s interview with Fairweather. The transcript below has been lightly edited for length and clarity:

HousingWire: Alright, now I want to focus on Redfin’s latest report, which focuses on the nation’s forbearance and foreclosure activity. In the article, Redfin highlights that more than 3.3. million U.S. homeowners will be on the hook for delinquent payments when mortgage forbearance ends, and while some of them will contribute to a wave of foreclosures, most will be able to work with their lenders to either refinance their mortgage or sell to cash in on rising home values. Can you explain this more in detail for our listeners?

Daryl Fairweather:  During the pandemic, we’ve had mortgage forbearance, which has been a really great option for people who are worried about a job loss or declining income. For many, not having a mortgage payment has been one less thing to worry about. While there’s uncertainty about where the economy is headed, not all of those who have chosen to defer their loans are going to end up in foreclosure. The good news for them is that home values have gone up quite a bit during the pandemic. In fact, they’ve risen over 6%, and most people have a lot of equity in their homes. These people have options. They can refinance their mortgage, which means they’ll be able to refinance to lower interest rates, potentially even reducing their payments below what they were initially paying prior to the pandemic.

HousingWire Daily 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 and Victoria Wickham.

HousingWire articles related to this episode:

• 2021 housing market forecast: What will fuel home sales?
• Mortgage delinquencies expected to remain above pre-pandemic levels until 2022
• Here’s why we won’t see a housing crisis after COVID-19
• Pandemic may lead to foreclosure crisis, CoreLogic says
• Despite moratoria, foreclosures increase 20% in October