Moody’s Analytics Paints Gloomy Picture for Many Americans with Mortgages

Moody’s Analytics, chief economist, Mark Zandi, is saying he believes that unlike the last recession, a dozen years ago, lenders are far stronger and no-doc home loans are history. Nevertheless, Zandi believes that housing still will wreak collateral damage on the economy. He estimates that as many as 30% of Americans with home loans, or some 15 million households, could default if the nation’s economy remains closed through the summer. If there’s any good news to the prospect of unmet loan payments, it’s that the new federal rescue bill lets home borrowers postpone payments up to 180 days on federally backed mortgages, while letting them avoid penalties.