The feet of people standing in line, behind social distancing markers on the floor.

Report

Residential Mortgage Refinancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Lauren Lambie-Hanson

Senior Advisor and Research Fellow, Consumer Finance Institute

September 2020

Historically low interest rates have spurred a refinance wave among American homeowners, particularly those with higher credit scores and greater home equity. However, millions of borrowers may still benefit from refinancing, and industry forecasts suggest interest rates will remain low over the next 12 months.

This special report provides a survey of recent activity in the market for mortgage refinances and estimates the number of refinance candidates remaining to be over 17 million, based on the most recent data available. The report describes indicators of borrower interest in refinancing and cautions that increased mortgage forbearance and nonpayment rates during the pandemic may preclude many borrowers from partaking in today’s low interest rates, which have the potential to lower monthly mortgage payments at a time when such savings would be particularly beneficial to households.

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How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected the Supply of Consumer Credit?

Larry Santucci

August 2020

This special report from our Consumer Finance Institute finds that lenders have responded to the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S. so far with a mix of caution and consolation, reducing the availability of credit to new customers while offering protections to existing ones.

Consumer Credit

Brief

Consumers Anticipate Long-Lasting Impact from Financial Damage

This research brief explores consumers' view of future financial impact from the pandemic.