- Florida had the most foreclosures in May, with 2,901 homes forfeited.
- Inflation and rising interest rates are blamed for pressure on Americans’ cost of living
Nationwide, home foreclosures rose 7% last month, up 14% from a year earlier as the cost of living continued to rise.
Foreclosure-related filings, including notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank foreclosures, surged to 35,196, according to the report. new data from ATTOM.
Florida had the most foreclosures in May, with 2,901 home foreclosures initiated.
This was followed by 2,451 foreclosures in California and 2,286 property forfeitures in Texas.
“The recent increase in the number of foreclosure filings nationwide is indicative of trends we’ve observed throughout the year and what we expected to happen,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement. there is,” he said.
“The upward trajectory suggests that activity may continue to pick up, with foreclosure completions marking the biggest monthly increase of the year, and the potential impact this could have on the housing market,” Barber said. We will continue to monitor it,” he said.
Fitch analysts said foreclosure applications had “normalized” from very low levels during the pandemic as consumers benefited from loan deferrals and government support, even as the number of foreclosure applications increased. ‘It’s just a process.
However, inflation remains high, with annual inflation currently at 4.9 percent, according to the latest figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite declining from its June 2022 peak of 9.1%, inflation is still putting significant pressure on household budgets, likely contributing to more households unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. .
Adjusted for inflation, US workers’ earnings are still below their pre-pandemic highs.
Since the pandemic, the cost of living has soared in Florida, which had the highest number of foreclosures last month, and the state’s real hourly wage fell from $25.12 in February 2020 to $24.82 in April. Analysis by NBC News.
Interest rates have also risen sharply over the past year, with the Federal Reserve’s most recent hike in May bringing the base rate to 5.25%, putting pressure on mortgage rates after a decade of ultra-low interest rates.
The Fed has suggested that interest rates need to stay high for a long time to keep inflation under control.
“The number of foreclosure applications is likely to continue to rise, but nothing like what we saw when the bubble burst in 2008,” Barber added.
