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6M+ Renters And Homeowners, 26M Student Debt Borrowers Missed September Payments

6M+ Renters And Homeowners, 26M Student Debt Borrowers Missed September Payments

graduate student loans
6M+ Renters And Homeowners, 26M Student Debt Borrowers Missed September Payments. Ryan Brown of Deptford, N.J., and other seniors wait in anticipation for President Barack Obama to address the graduates of Hampton University, a historically black university, at the school’s Armstrong Stadium, in Hampton, Va. May 9, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

More than 32 million renters, homeowners and student loan borrowers missed payments in September as persistent layoffs slowed the summer momentum in economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

In September, 8.5 percent of renters (2.82 million households) missed, delayed, or made a reduced payment, while 7.1 percent (3.37 million homeowners) missed their mortgage payment. Forty percent of student debt borrowers (26 million) missed a monthly payment in September — a proportion that has remained steady since May, according to research by the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s Research Institute for Housing America.

It’s a sign that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is weighing on jobless Americans as Congress stalls on relief measures, USA Today reported.

Over the summer, rent and mortgage payment collections improved as states resumed opening business and more Americans returned to work. However, high unemployment continues to be hard on millions of U.S. households. 

The unemployment rate fell from 8.4 percent in August to 7.9 percent in September, the Labor Department said, but the recovery is slowing

The U.S. reported 1.18 million new cases in September compared with 1.41 million in August. Experts say a fall surge of coronavirus infections is well underway in October.

The Trump administration is busy trying to confirm a new Supreme Court justice before the election. Meanwhile, Congress has stalled on covid-19 relief, failing to approve any new stimulus since March, when both chambers compromised on bills totaling more than $3 trillion, including one-time $1,200 checks and $600 weekly unemployment benefits. Economists worry that millions of U.S. households will fall further behind without another round of federal aid.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it’s unlikely that another covid-19 relief package will be passed before the election.

“There is growing concern that absent a slowdown in the number of coronavirus cases and another round of much-needed federal aid, millions of households in the coming months face the prospect of falling further behind,” said Gary V. Engelhardt, Professor of Economics in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, in a prepared statement. “With the current eviction moratorium expiring in January, the situation could be even more challenging for renters. Many renter households across the country could find themselves with no place to live and no means to repay missed payments.”

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Student loan borrowers behind on their payments could also impact the housing and mortgage markets. They face an adverse effect on their credit, making it potentially more challenging for them to rent or qualify for a mortgage, Engelhardt said.

The research polled more than 8,000 households on the internet.

In aggregate, rental property owners lost as much as $9.2 billion in third-quarter revenue from missed rent payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Total missed mortgage payments were estimated to be as much as $19.4 billion for the third quarter and missed student loan payments were estimated to be as much as $29.5 billion.