“From EconoFact: The perception of falling prices of single-family homes and record levels of unemployment raise the specter of rising levels of mortgage defaults. Mortgage defaults in the wake of the economic and financial collapse in the Fall of 2008 contributed to the tepid economic recovery from that crisis, as well as personal hardship for those who lost their houses; by 2010, approximately 11.5 percent of single-family residential mortgages were delinquent and more than 2 percent were in foreclosure. There are concerns that similar developments now could derail economic recovery. But drawing parallels between 2020 and 2008 is problematic because conditions differ substantially across the two periods in the run-up to the crisis and in its first few months.” See full brief by Jeff Zabel.
