Foreclosures Are Surging as U.S. Homeowners Grapple with Rising Costs
Kimberly Draxler was in shock when she called her mortgage lender in April and was told her four-bedroom home in Hillview, Kentucky, would be sold out from under her in a matter of days.
Though she had been alerted that something might be wrong by a letter in the mail from an attorney offering assistance in warding off foreclosure, she said her lender never informed her that she was about to lose her home.
“They never called me and told me they were just going to rip my house right underneath me,” Draxler told CBS News.
Draxler’s lender said it notifies all borrowers of a possible foreclosure by mail and by phone throughout the process, in compliance with federal debt collection rules.
Before learning that her home was entering foreclosure, Draxler, who is 57 and on disability, said she stayed afloat financially by relying on her son, who contributed $600 a month to help take care of household expenses. But after he moved out in 2024, her bills began to pile up, she told CBS News. Draxler soon fell behind on her mortgage.
The financial pressures bearing down on Draxler highlight the struggles of homeowners still grappling with the rising cost of everything from housing and groceries to energy bills and insurance coverage. With many households stretched thin, unexpected events such as job loss, unplanned medical expense or even simple car problems can cause people to fall behind on their mortgages.
“I just couldn’t do it anymore”
Although foreclosures — which include default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — remain well below their pre-pandemic levels, they are on the rise.
As of August, foreclosure filings had risen six straights 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 U.S. properties that went into foreclosure in 2024.
“Paying for the house, the car, the necessity bills — I just couldn’t do it anymore,” said Draxler, who had come close to losing her home in foreclosure on three previous occasions over the last decade.