Foreclosure notices have surged 34% year over year to nearly 125,000 in the third quarter of 2023, up 28% from the previous quarter, indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels as foreclosure moratoriums expire. While rising foreclosures and high home prices have some fearful of a housing bust, experts are optimistic about the state of the market in the months ahead, Realtor.com reports.
Since the housing bust of 2008, risky mortgages have been phased out, stricter lender qualification standards have been introduced, and the market has more buyers than available homes, an imbalance that has sustained strong home prices. Despite a national increase, some areas are seeing foreclosures declining, such as Salt Lake City, which posted a 74% annual decrease in foreclosure starts for Q3.
“Foreclosures are on the rise again,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement. “It’s evident that some homeowners are still grappling with the pandemic’s financial aftermath or encountering new challenges.”
About 11,000 homes were repossessed in the third quarter, representing a 5% jump from a year ago.
While rising foreclosures and still-high home prices might give folks some unwelcome flashbacks to the run-up to the housing bubble that burst around 2008, real estate experts don’t believe another foreclosure crisis is looming.
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