The number of active foreclosure filings in the U.S. was 19,479 in November. While this is down five percent from October, it is a whopping 94 percent higher than it was a year ago. Experts are quick to point out, however, that these figures could be deceiving at first glance since foreclosures were at a virtual standstill last year.
At the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government implemented a moratorium on all new foreclosure filings nationally. This kept the volume of default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions artificially low. As the government moratorium ends, the volume of foreclosures is returning to pre-COVID norms.
Analysts had previously expressed concerns that forbearance programs that allowed borrowers to defer their mortgage payments would lead to a higher than ordinary number of foreclosures ones those programs ended, but those concerns have thus far not come to fruition.
Today, conforming no-point 30-year fixed mortgage rates are averaging 3.0 percent and 15-year rates are near 2.25 percent.
Do you have a question for Real Estate & Mortgage Analyst Mehran Aram? Submit your queries about a home purchase, refinance, or reverse mortgage via Aramco.biz, social media (#AramcoReport), or over the phone at (877) 700-0942 and your questions may be featured in an upcoming article.
