Foreclosures in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County increased 71% in 2022.  Gasp!  ;-)

Well, yes, technically they did... after only 14 foreclosures in 2021 there were 24 in 2022.  That's a 71% increase.

But... that dip down to only 14 foreclosures in 2021 was due in large part to the moratorium on foreclosures during Covid.

So, really, we need to skip that year of data.

Looking back a bit further we'll note that the 24 foreclosures in 2022 was the lowest of anytime since 2008. 

Somewhat surprisingly, between 2008 and 2017 there were over 100 foreclosures a year. 

As such, the 24 foreclosures seen in 2022 is quite low - and a sign of general health in our local housing market - or a sign that home values are increasing, making foreclosures less likely to be a necessity.

Looking ahead, will we see more foreclosures in 2023 and/or 2024?  I suspect we'll only see a significant increase if home values were to flatten out or decline and/or if buyer demand were to significantly decline.  Both of those seem relatively unlikely at this point, so we seem poised to see another year of fewer than 50 foreclosures in 2023.