LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A recent report shows a serious uptick in notices of home default.
Previously, I highlighted the delinquent hotspots of 2022 and now, I'm digging deeper to see if there has been any improvement.
Instead, I found a 41% increase in 2024, revealing foreclosures are increasing across the valley.
It's a disturbing trend that can affect every local.
Yolanda Perkins' story is becoming all too common across southern Nevada.
“The cost of living is so high, I live from paycheck to paycheck and I can barely make it," Perkins told me.
I asked her if she. is having to readjust her budgeting to afford the roof over her head
“Yes and I work two jobs, it's really hard,” she said. “I make over 5,000 a month and I can not make it.”
She's not alone.
A recent Lied Center report from UNLV shows notices of default have jumped by more than 41% since June 2022.
“Right now, consumers are feeling the pinch of living in a high-cost environment," said Shawn McCoy, executive director of the Lied Center and co-author of the report.
McCoy says several areas across our valley have been hit hard but north Las Vegas, where Yolanda lives, leads the way.
So why is this happening? Analysts blame inflation.
"Consumers have gone through much of their savings, and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to weather those small bumps in the road with other types of income sources they might have to help mitigate the chances of missing a mortgage payment," McCoy told me.
Could another real estate bubble like what we saw in 2008 be looming?
"The core difference between today's market and what we saw in 2008 is that housing prices have been resilient," McCoy said, "Home prices, if anything, have been rising. So homeowners really do want to stay in these houses."
What can you do if you're struggling with your mortgage?
I reached out to loan officer Bryan Feldman to find out.
"Ask about a forbearance or a mortgage modification," he told me. "Those might be the two things that are the most helpful initially if they want to keep the home to try to do that."
While that may be a solution, Yolanda hopes the cost of living in Las Vegas becomes more affordable.
"You go to a grocery store and in the past, you spend 30 dollars and now it's over a hundred. And without my second job, I don't know I would be done and end up on our streets," Perkins said.
The loan officer I spoke to recommends those who are struggling to visit the Nevada Homeowner Assistance Fund's website.
