 TITLE: Mortgage Debt Sees Record Growth Despite Pandemic CONTENT: Forbearances, Deferrals Double During Pandemic\n----------------------------------------------\nThough Americans have been applying for mortgages at record rates over the past year, the number of accounts placed in forbearance or deferral has also risen sharply since the onset of the pandemic. As the reality of the pandemic set in in April 2020, the number of accounts in forbearance and deferral doubled, according to Experian data.\nAt one point in April 2020, the number of accounts reported as in forbearance or deferral grew by 102%. The total balance of these accounts increased by 132% to more than $567 billion. In May 2020, both the number of accounts and the total balance recorded as in forbearance or deferral increased again. Total balances on accounts in forbearance or deferral grew by 67% (to a total of $944 billion) and the total number of accounts grew by an additional 60%, according to Experian data.\nThis sharp increase in paused mortgage repayment was likely sparked by the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law at the end of March 2020. The act required companies servicing government-backed mortgages to allow borrowers financially impacted by the pandemic to temporarily place their loans in forbearance.\nSo far—when measured by the health of overall consumer credit scores—these measures to avoid delinquency and allow those impacted by the pandemic to modify repayment seem to have worked. END