Virginia’s Pre-Foreclosure Crisis in 2024: A Decline in Numbers, But Not in Struggle

A Quiet Crisis Behind the Numbers

In many corners of Virginia, the idea of home has become uncertain terrain. Despite a modest decline in year-over-year pre-foreclosure filings, the pain remains visceral for many. In September 2024, the number of pre-foreclosure properties in Virginia totaled 504, up slightly from 490 in August (a 2.86% increase), yet significantly down from 704 in September 2023, a 28.41% year-over-year decrease.

To a casual observer, this dip might suggest the worst has passed. But behind the spreadsheets and percentages lies a more painful reality for families just one missed paycheck away from losing their homes.

The Ghosts of Recession Past

To understand the present, you have to look back. In 2009 and 2010, Virginia, much like the rest of the nation, was caught in the throes of the foreclosure crisis. Over 50,000 homes fell into pre-foreclosure each of those years. The starkest examples of economic collapse written in plywood-sheathed windows and auction lawn signs.

By 2013, numbers began stabilizing, and a brief period of relative calm followed. Then, 2020 brought pandemic-era protections that nearly froze the foreclosure process altogether. In 2021, Virginia recorded just 30 pre-foreclosure properties. But those protections were temporary, a dam holding back the tide. By 2023, the number had surged back to 8,847.

So far in 2024, through September, 4,470 properties have entered pre-foreclosure. That puts the year slightly below the pace seen in 2023, a soft comfort if you’re among the growing number of families circling financial strain.

Inflation, Wages, and the Cost of Holding On

The numbers don’t live in a vacuum. Inflation, though easing, continues to outpace wage growth for many working-class families. Essential expenses, energy, healthcare, groceries, remain stubbornly high. Unemployment, while relatively low, offers cold comfort to those working multiple jobs and still barely managing to make rent or mortgage payments.

Take the case of Carla Ramirez, a single mother in Richmond. In April, she fell two months behind on her mortgage after her hours were cut at the warehouse where she’s worked for seven years.

“I never imagined we’d be here,” she said, her voice strained. “I did everything right. Bought a home, paid my bills, went without if I had to. But now, I get letters every week from the bank. They call it pre-foreclosure. I just call it fear.”

Carla is one of many across the state caught between an unaffordable housing market and limited assistance. Her story is echoed in suburbs and small towns alike. From Newport News to Roanoke, where the same economic pressures apply.

A Modern Landscape of Uneven Recovery

What’s clear from the data is Virginia is no longer navigating the same scale of crisis it faced in 2009 and 2010, when tens of thousands of families lost their homes in a matter of months. But the economic pressures are still acute, just more targeted.

Incomes have not kept pace with rising homeownership costs. For many low- and moderate-income Virginians, buying a home remains as distant a goal as ever, and for those who managed to purchase during low-interest periods, the subsequent cost of living spikes, with homeowners insurance rates and utility bills on the rise, have pushed them to the brink.

In areas like Northern Virginia, inflated property values mask the strain of variable-rate mortgages now resetting at higher interest rates. For others, especially in the state’s more economically vulnerable regions, job instability or medical bills have been more than enough to put homeownership at risk.

Final Thought

The raw number of pre-foreclosure may be declining in Virginia. But the people behind those numbers, families like Carla’s, are reminders that a crisis need not be explosive to be devastating. In a world where policy attention often follows spikes and headlines, the steady hum of economic quiet desperation can too easily be ignored.

Until we bridge the gap between housing costs and household income, even these lesser numbers may turn out to be only a pause before something worse.