The number of foreclosure filings is up by more than 132 percent when compared to 2021. According to statistics from Black Knight, the number of active foreclosure cases involving homes that have begun the foreclosure process on a seriously delinquent loan, went up by over than 7,000 cases in March 2022. This increase is the first one seen in a year-to-year comparison in over 10 years.
Additionally, more than 78,000 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing during the first quarter of 2022. This figure is 39 percent higher from the previous quarter and 132 percent more when compared to one year ago, according to figures from ATTOM. Black Knight also reports that the number of serious mortgage delinquencies, mortgages that are 90 days or more past due, are 70 percent higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
Housing experts say that even though the number of active foreclosure cases on a year-to-year basis are up, the number of home loans currently in active foreclosure are still below historic norms. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the average number of foreclosures filed monthly nationally ranged from 30,000 to 40,000.
However, the relief offered through the CARES Act in response to the pandemic provided enough relief to put all that foreclosure activity to a halt, including forbearance programs. Many of these programs have since ended, but a large portion of these homeowners have been able to exit forbearance and continue paying on their mortgages. Many who remain in forbearance will continue to have the protection needed to keep them from foreclosure, at least until they reach the maximum time allowed for forbearance.
According to representatives at ATTOM, this increased level of foreclosure activity includes the number of foreclosures or loans that were already in default prior to the pandemic. Once courts reopened, allowing these cases to proceed, the number of cases understandably skyrocketed. They say this does not mean that the housing market is heading for a crash.
Black Knight reports that even though serious mortgage delinquencies are up since the start of the pandemic, in March of 2022, they fell by 12 percent, marking the strongest single-month improvement in over 20 years. Currently, there are 1.2 million fewer serious delinquencies since March 2021. The company also reports that 30-day delinquencies, mortgages that are only one payment behind, have decreased by 20 percent from February.
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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between keeping your home or losing it in foreclosure. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure, please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com