The financial shock from the coronavirus pandemic threatens the housing security of millions of Americans, prompting federal, state and local officials — and even judges and the police — to move quickly to ward off foreclosures and evictions, the New York Times reported. Yesterday, the federal agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant government-run finance firms that back the mortgages of 28 million homeowners, ordered a suspension of foreclosures and foreclosure-related evictions for at least two months. The move is meant to keep people in their homes and avoid a housing squeeze like the one that followed the mortgage-fueled financial crisis of 2008. And over the past week, there has been a groundswell across the country to protect renters as well. The Miami-Dade police in Florida said that they wouldn’t carry out evictions during the health crisis. A high-ranking New York State judge declared that the courts would consider no eviction cases until further notice. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California issued an executive order allowing cities to impose eviction moratoriums.
