IRVINE, Calif.–While foreclosures—which include default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions—remain well below pre-pandemic levels, they are on the rise, in part due to rising insurance costs, new data show.
As of August, foreclosure filings had risen six straight months year-over-year and were up 18% from the same period in 2024, according to property data firm ATTOM. Through June, roughly 188,000 properties had foreclosure filings, putting the U.S. on track to surpass the roughly 322,000 properties that went into foreclosure in 2024, the company said.
Roughly 94% of mortgage defaults occur after a homeowner loses income to extenuating circumstances, according to The Urban Institute, citing data from the National Bureau of Economic Research, CBS News noted in its analysis.
Rising Insurance Costs
CBS News said a key factor behind the rise in foreclosure rates is the growing cost of home insurance, utilities, property taxes, repairs and other homeownership expenses. For example, single-family homeowners with a mortgage today pay an average of $2,370 a year for property coverage —up nearly 70% from five years ago, according to data from ICE Mortgage Technology.
In addition to rising homeowners insurance costs, many households are also contending with higher property taxes and elevated interest rates, the report added.
Todd Teta, chief product and technology officer at ATTOM, told CBS News the recent slowdown in hiring has been a factor behind rising mortgage delinquencies.
Higher Payments Coming
A high-interest-rate environment can be particularly challenging for homeowners with variable-rate loans, the report stated.
“While there has been a small dip in interest rates, they remain significantly higher than just a few years ago, so borrowers with upcoming resets are still likely to see sizable payment increases,” Teta said.
