The impact of the financial crisis surrounding the coronavirus is starting to show in the mortgage markets.

Nearly 3 million Americans are behind on home payments backed by the government, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The number of loans in forbearance is up to 5.95 percent in the week ending April 12 when it was just 0.25 percent in early March.

Under the CARES Act, borrowers can stop making payments on loans backed by government agencies and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With the forbearance, borrowers can make partial payments or suspend payments for up to a year because of the act.

Those payments would still need to be made after the financial crisis ends. Additional fees, interest or penalties are not allowed to be charged because of the forbearance.

"Mortgage servicers continue to receive a very high level of forbearance requests, but volumes were down somewhat compared to the prior week,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist. “Given that lockdowns and associated job losses will continue in the coming weeks, forbearance inquiries will likely rise again as we approach May payment due dates. Borrowers facing COVID-19-related hardships should contact their servicer to review all of their options."

The Mortgage Bankers Association also announced new mortgage applications were down 0.3 percent this week.

But the bigger pool of customers impacted are those already with mortgages and losing income because of the coronavirus. More than 22 million Americans are unemployed, levels not seen since the Great Depression.

The biggest increase in forbearances come from loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veteran Affairs, NPR reported. Those loans typically go to first-time homebuyers.

Michael Casagrande is reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.