The big picture: Roughly 2.5 million to 3.5 million American households are behind on their rent, according to the Goldman report. They owe landlords between $12 billion and $17 billion.
- Many state-level eviction restrictions are set to expire over the next month, according to the report.
- Mass evictions will take place unless Congress acts or federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds are distributed more quickly, the report said.
What to watch: According to the report, evictions are likely to be "particularly pronounced in the cities hardest hit" by COVID-19 because they have stronger apartment rental markets.
- The eviction of 750,000 households could also create a "small drag" on spending and job growth, the report said.
Our thought bubble, via Axios' Felix Salmon: Evictions nationwide remain low compared to pre-pandemic levels of about 1 million per year. Federal Emergency Rental Assistance funding, in theory, could prevent a late-2021 spike in evictions, but it's being distributed very slowly by the states. In practice, it's likely to arrive too late for hundreds of thousands of households.
