With moratoriums in place, foreclosures were nearly non-existent last year. Even as pandemic protections have lifted, a foreclosure wave\u2014which was an industry concern\u2014has not occurred.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe COVID-19 foreclosure tsunami that some people had anticipated is clearly not happening,\u201d says Rick Sharga, executive vice president at RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company. \u201cGovernment and mortgage industry efforts have prevented millions of unnecessary foreclosures, and while it\u2019s likely that we\u2019ll see a slight increase in the first quarter, we probably won\u2019t see foreclosure activity back to normal levels before the end of 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/magazine.realtor\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/asset_image_full_content\/public\/assets\/images\/1.14.2022_foreclosures.jpeg?itok=DGMHbAZ6\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Foreclosure starts also were at a record low nationwide in 2021, according to the ATTOM Data Solutions report. The states that saw the largest declines in foreclosure starts compared to the previous year were Maryland (down 81%), Oklahoma (down 70%), Idaho (down 64%), Nebraska (down 63%), and Connecticut (down 60%).<\/p>\n \u201cThe government\u2019s foreclosure moratorium, the mortgage forbearance program, and the mortgage servicing guidelines enacted by the CFPB in August have kept foreclosure starts artificially low over the past year,\u201d Sharga says. \u201cWhile the recovering economy should prevent a huge increase in defaults, we should see a gradual increase in foreclosure activity as these programs expire, and servicers exhaust all loan modification options for delinquent borrowers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nReprinted with permission<\/span><\/div>\n