Wisconsin started out 2020 with an increase in home sales and median prices of houses over the same time in 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic is expected to have a major influence on the market now.

Both the number of sales and median prices grew in Miami-Dade and Broward in March, just as coronavirus began to grip South Florida.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has promised to take care of advances on principal and interest payments for coronavirus forbearances after four months, but servicers remain concerned about other responsibilities.

Toronto home sales and listings plunged in the first part of April as the COVID-19 pandemic curbed demand in Canada's largest city.

The FHFA will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for a limited time, to purchase loans for which the borrower has sought to postpone payments because of the economic effects of the coronavirus.

Mortgage fraud risk plummeted in the first quarter of 2020 amid historically low mortgage rates and a boom of refinances, but the coronavirus could create a new set of risks, according to CoreLogic.

Impac Mortgage temporarily shut lending operations and furloughed 333 workers due to market turmoil tied to the novel coronavirus.

Efforts to calm lenders’ fears about coronavirus-related forbearance may not offset tightening standards, and the FHA is less likely to boost volume than it was during the financial crisis.

Separate reports from Radian and Redfin show home values rose during March despite a slowdown in sales, but that is likely to change as shelter-in-place orders affect the real estate markets.

The agency said it is aligning policies for Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans in forbearance so that servicers are only responsible for advancing four months of missed payments.