Apartment List [1]found that 31% of Americans made either a partial house payment or no payment at all in May—an increase from the prior month.
Twenty-two percent of homeowners made no housing payments in May. Also, those who work remotely have had an easier time paying for housing, with a May delinquency rate 10 percentage points lower than those going into the office.
The report found that 69% of renters and homeowners paid a full housing payment in May, which is considerably lower from April’s 76%. Just 12% of renters and homeowners made no payment in April, which is nearly half of the 22% in May.
Those who struggled to make payments in April also struggled to make payments in May. The report found that of those who made a full payment in April, 81% were able to make full payments in May.
However, 60% of people who struggled in April did not make a payment in May, while 60% made just partial payments.
Lower-income households are struggling the most, as 71% of homeowners making under $75,000 per year did not pay their housing bill.
Despite recent numbers, those with a mortgage are showing improved confidence if they needed to shelter-in-place through June.
The survey found in April that 6% of homeowners would not be able to pay their mortgage. That saw a slight decline to 4% in May.
As of April 30, more than 3.8 million homeowners are in forbearance plans, representing 7.3% of all active mortgages, according to the latest data from Black Knight [2]. Together, they account for $841 billion in unpaid principal and include 6.1% of all GSE-backed loans and 10.5% of all FHA/VA loans.
This is an increase from Black Knights April 24 data, when more than 3.4 million homeowners, or 6.4% of all mortgages, have entered into COVID-19 mortgage forbearance plans.
According to Black Knight CEO Anthony Jabbour, the recent Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announcement of a four-month limit on advance obligations for servicers of mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provides the industry with some much-needed clarity.