Mortgage delinquencies are on the rise. Indeed, in February, the national delinquency rate rose for the first time in 9 months, largely driven by a 97,000 rise in early-stage delinquencies — or those that were 30 – 60 days past due, according to new data based on month-end mortgage performance statistics from Black Knight, a mortgage and real estate data and analytics company. The number of properties that are 30 or more days past due or in foreclosure reached approximately 1.95 million nationwide, while total U.S. foreclosure starts hit 25,000, up 541% from the same time last year, Black Knight revealed.

Why are we seeing this uptick? Mortgage delinquencies nearly disappeared during the pandemic because of the generous mortgage-relief provisions enacted by the federal government in the spring of 2020, pros explain. “Homeowners who were struggling financially got a free pass on their mortgage payments for a year or longer. Now though, homeowners have to resume payments and some can’t,” says Jeff Ostrowski, analyst at Bankrate.