A new report published by real estate data provider ATTOM found that there were 32,938 properties in February with foreclosure filings, which includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. That marks an 8% increase from the prior year, although it is down 1% from the previous month.
The February rise of foreclosures is another symptom of Americans struggling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Fox Business reports that according to Zillow, housing affordability is the worst it has been in decades, thanks to a spike in home prices and mortgage rates. Combined, the two have helped to push the typical salary required nationwide for homeownership up to $106,500 — a stunning 61% increase from the $59,000 required just four years ago.
In South Carolina, foreclosures surged 51%, while Missouri saw a 50% jump and Pennsylvania a 46% increase. Foreclosures in Texas rose 7%, and in Indiana they climbed 0.8%. Although foreclosures are rising, they remain well below the levels recorded during the 2008 financial crisis, reports Fox Business.
However, the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan rose to 6.74% this week, Freddie Mac reported, which is well above the pandemic-era lows of 3%. And even though mortgage rates have more than doubled in just three years, home prices have hardly budged.
Fox Business states that the problem could soon get worse as high home prices, mortgage rates and property taxes bite Americans:
The Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest-rate hike campaign sent mortgage rates soaring above 8% for the first time in nearly two decades last year. Rates have been slow to retreat, hovering near 7% as hotter-than-expected inflation data dashed investors’ hopes for immediate rate cuts.
