A surface level glance of foreclosure statistics in the U.S. would have the casual observer think that there has been a astronomical 76 percent increase over the last year. And while foreclosure filings in the U.S. have climbed recently, the significant annual increase isn’t due to people not making their payments but rather a backlog of foreclosures that have been on hold due to the pandemic.
ATTOM released its October 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report this week which showed a total of 20,582 new filings last month – including default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions. This is up five percent in a month and the sixth consecutive annual increase. However, the increases are largely being attributed to the ending of foreclosure moratoriums that were in place over the last 18 months due to the coronavirus.
“As expected, now that the moratorium has been over for three months, foreclosure activity continues to increase,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president at RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company. “But it’s increasing at a slower rate, and it appears that most of the activity is primarily on loans that were in foreclosure prior to the pandemic.”
Today, conforming no-point 30-year fixed mortgage rates are averaging 2.875 percent and 15-year rates are near 2.25 percent.
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