West Virginia’s Pre-Foreclosure Rates Show Signs of Decline, But Homeowners Still Struggle

The housing market is a living, breathing organism. It fluctuates with the economy, bends under the weight of interest rates, and shakes when uncertainty creeps in. In West Virginia, the story of pre-foreclosures is one of both statistical improvement and personal struggle—a mixed signal that reflects the ongoing tension between affordability and financial hardship.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

In June 2024, 31 homes in West Virginia entered pre-foreclosure, marking a 19.23% increase from May when the state recorded 26 cases. While any increase is concerning, especially for families on the brink of losing their homes, the bigger picture shows a different trend. Compared to this time last year, the state’s pre-foreclosure rate has dropped by a notable 47.46%—from 59 pre-foreclosures in June 2023.

The recent decline from last year is part of a broader pattern. In 2023, West Virginia saw 540 pre-foreclosures, a significant uptick from previous years, but 2024 appears to be on track for fewer cases—at least for now. With 191 reported so far in the first half of the year, homeowners might be cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind them.

Even so, for those affected, the numbers are more than mere statistics. Behind every pre-foreclosure filing is a family scrambling to make sense of a daunting reality: the place they call home may no longer be theirs.

The Stories Behind the Statistics

Take Angela Carter, a single mother in Charleston, who had never missed a mortgage payment—until this year. When her job in retail cut her hours, she suddenly found herself making difficult choices: pay the mortgage, keep the lights on, or put food on the table. “You never think it will happen to you,” she said. “I’ve done everything right. I worked hard. But when everything costs more, your pay doesn’t keep up, and you fall behind—even just a little—it snowballs faster than you can stop it.”

Angela’s struggle isn’t unique. Inflation has made everyday expenses more burdensome, and while the national conversation has focused on rising home prices in urban hubs, homeowners in states like West Virginia also feel the squeeze. Unlike buyers in New York or California, the typical West Virginian homeowner doesn’t deal with astronomical property values—but they do contend with stagnant wages, job precarity, and a regional economy still recovering from industrial decline.

A Long Look Back: How the Market Has Shifted

West Virginia has weathered housing crises before. The state saw a massive spike in pre-foreclosures during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, hitting a peak of 771 cases in 2009. Homeowners struggled under the weight of lost jobs, reckless lending practices, and an economic downturn that engulfed the nation. While foreclosure numbers gradually declined over the following years, 2023 stood out as an alarming reversal—540 pre-foreclosure filings—raising questions about whether another crisis was developing.

Yet 2024’s current trajectory suggests a stabilization. Unless the coming months reveal another spike, West Virginia may be seeing pre-foreclosures return to lower, more manageable levels.

What’s Driving the Decline?

Several factors may be helping:

• Stronger lending practices: Unlike the wild days of the early 2000s, banks today operate under stricter guidelines, which means fewer risky loans that lead to foreclosure.
• Homeowner assistance programs: Since the pandemic, West Virginia has expanded foreclosure prevention efforts, offering aid to struggling homeowners before they fall too far behind.
• A cooling housing market: While rising interest rates have made housing affordability a challenge nationwide, they have also slowed down speculative buying, bringing more stability to mortgage lending.

But despite these improvements, pre-foreclosure doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s often an indicator of deeper economic struggles. Many West Virginians live paycheck to paycheck, meaning even a single financial setback—a medical bill, a job loss, a rise in utility costs—can push them toward default.

The Road Ahead

For now, West Virginia’s pre-foreclosures appear to be moving in the right direction, even as homeowners like Angela Carter find themselves in an exhausting fight for stability. The data shows improvement, but it also serves as a reminder that every number represents a real person facing the unimaginable prospect of losing their home.

The challenge moving forward is not just reducing foreclosure rates but addressing the larger forces—wage stagnation, rising costs, and weak economic safety nets—that make homeownership such a fragile promise for so many. Without tackling these root issues, the heartache hidden within these statistics will continue to repeat itself, year after year.