It’s complicated. In the USA, the unemployment rate is near an all time low yet foreclosures are higher according to OP’s information. What gives? Household demographics is a factor in the number of foreclosures.

People are making personal choices that affect the likelihood of home foreclosure over time. The average household size is near an all time low. Many people choose to live alone and don’t have a partner for a second income when personal circumstances change. Also, the marriage rate is near an all time low and the trend of single parent homes has been rising for decades.

U.S. has world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households | Pew Research Center

A sign of the times

So my VA loans with 0 down and 2.399% 30 year fixed is not away to avoid foreclosure? My principal goes down $900 a month when I make my payment.

Cornell Law
 

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Add to that the companies that bought second mortgages and HELOCs from banks that deemed them uncollectable are going after homeowners whose property values have increased to the point that these second "mortgages" are now collectible. WSJ journal had an article about a homeowner who was foreclosed by a company going after a mortgage - that with accumulated interest and costs came to $160,000. Homeowner had no idea he was still liable for the second. But - in fairness - why should the homeowner be able to walk about from debt he incurred?

OOPS another senior moment. People do take mortgages out they should not and banks are not the conservative lenders they used to be

The stat is an origination filter statistic for house loans with an average life of 7-10 years. The 7-10 years is a stat for the average length of time that a mortgage was outstanding to collect interest before the house was sold or the loan was refinanced. . . again, just an historical stat.

In the current environment, which is now different than the prepandemic period, the low mortgage rate for those who refinance or purchased is fantastic. However, there were people who took mortgages at the very low level for a house they could only afford should circumstances never change. . . ie purchased too much house due to pandemic influenced availability and prices. .

so foreclosures reason segmentation is needed which is always difficult to find, if publicly available at all. . . and this example is how with just top line stats, the interpretations can be wildly different than the actual reasons, which may or may not be unique or isolated to specific events, such as hurricane Irma, or other events such as the purchase and collection of assumed deadbeat loans. .

data guy forever, even after corp financial retirement

Storm damage
 

Many houses in Florida were left uninhabitable after our storms last year. Perhaps some situations were in the “sunk cost” paradigm and there was little reason to rebuild or return to the nothingness of a wasteland. Maybe foreclosures on those properties was the best thing to happen.

Possibly a significant number of foreclosures were caused by taking low interest ARM loans of which the interest rate increases rendered them unaffordable for the borrowers.

good point! also a segment of the foreclosures which would be financial rate for those who didn't refinance the ARM when rates were low. we purchased in 2018/2019 with a 5 year ARM at 4.5 rounded, refinanced for 3% in the january 2021when the rates were at rock bottom. .

There was a foreclosure in TV and the couple divorced or something, unknown reason, and they just abandoned the house. . didn't even try to sell it. . weird. . and with a 20% down payment, that was like 80K they threw away

all is fine until humans get involved. . just strange. .

Fine line between love and hate, bet one of the partners really wanted to hurt the other financially

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I know you won't agree, but I think the VA loan program, which is promoted as a "benefit", actually does a disservice to a lot of military people, especially young people. They buy a house with no money down, get a car loan, buy a lot of furniture and other things for the house, all with the premise that they are making a good investment. Unfortunately, many of them are never able to get out of debt, even if they are able to avoid foreclosure, which many are not. Not a good lesson in financial planning. Clark Howard, my hero cheapskate, and a military reservist, has given a lot of lectures on financial planning to his fellow military members. He has become a millionaire many times over by avoiding debt.

Very true. Some debt can be a good thing but too much is an albatross

Only debt with tax deductible interest which doesn't exceed the limit, and when interest rates are below the rate of inflation, negative real rates, is some debt OK. .

but borrowing to the max percentage of income lenders will give is not a plan for success unless its a very short term debt instrument.

Which is why one should pay off the bond if there is no expectation of moving in the next 10 + years. . :popcorn: