The Rising Strain: Examining Utah’s Pre-Foreclosure Market in 2024

SALT LAKE CITY — Nicole Thompson shuffled through a stack of past-due bills at her kitchen table, her hands trembling as she scanned the final notice from the bank. A single mother of two and a healthcare worker, Thompson had been struggling to keep up with her mortgage payments after rising inflation pushed up the cost of groceries, gas, and other essentials. Now, her home—the same home where she brought her youngest child home from the hospital—was on the verge of slipping through her fingers.

Thompson is just one of many Utah homeowners facing a grim reality: pre-foreclosures, though far from their peak during the Great Recession, continue to quietly affect hundreds of households across the state.

A Market Under Pressure

In September 2024, 204 Utah homeowners found themselves in pre-foreclosure, a slight decline of 0.97% from the previous month and a 2.86% decrease compared to the same time last year. The numbers suggest a relatively stable market, but behind these stats are families like Thompson’s who have found themselves pulled under by rising living costs and stagnant wages.

At the heart of this slow-moving crisis is an economic strain that has left even the most financially prudent homeowners unable to cope. Inflation may have cooled from its pandemic-era peak, but for families living paycheck to paycheck, even a modest mortgage rate hike or an unexpected medical bill can be the difference between staying afloat and losing their home.

A Look at the Historical Context

Utah’s housing market has weathered worse storms. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the state saw pre-foreclosure figures skyrocket, peaking at 24,432 in 2010. Those years of devastation forced thousands of families out of their homes, changing the landscape of communities and pushing many into long-term financial hardship.

Since then, pre-foreclosure numbers have significantly declined, dipping to 1,012 in 2021 before inching upward again. In the first nine months of 2024, Utah has already seen 1,776 pre-foreclosures, suggesting that while we are nowhere near past crisis levels, the strain on homeowners is far from over.

Loring points out that the slight uptick in pre-foreclosures over the past two years could be a sign of deeper affordability issues. Wages have not kept pace with inflation, making it harder for homeowners to manage increasing costs while keeping up with mortgage payments.

“We may not see a housing crash like in 2008,” he said, “but for low-income families, for those already stretched thin, even a few hundred dollars a month makes a huge difference.”

Who Is Most at Risk?

Because the data lacks a city or county level breakdown, it’s difficult to pinpoint precisely where the burden of pre-foreclosures is highest, but experts suggest that urban and suburban areas with high concentrations of first-time homebuyers are likely seeing the most distress.

Many of these homeowners took out mortgages during the pandemic when interest rates were historically low. Now, with refinancing options limited and monthly payments creeping higher due to rising property taxes and insurance costs, some are beginning to feel trapped.

What Comes Next?

The data suggests that Utah’s pre-foreclosure rate is stable, but stability is not the same as security. For families like the Thompsons, financial stability feels fragile—one more emergency away from disaster.

For policymakers and housing advocates, the challenge is clear: how to build a system that protects homeowners not just from the kind of mass foreclosures seen in 2010 but from the everyday economic pressures that quietly erode their financial footing.

Utahns fear of losing their homes isn’t just a statistic. It’s a lived experience, one played out in quiet moments of worry over kitchen tables, in anxious phone calls to mortgage lenders, and in the fear of what happens next.

“I just want to keep the roof over my kids’ heads,” Thompson said, glancing toward her living room, where her youngest slept soundly on the couch. “That’s all I want. But it feels like the ground is moving beneath me, and I don’t know how to stop it.”