Phoenix Eviction and Foreclosure Rates Doubled the National Average—Then the Pandemic Hit

"Phoenix-area residents were more than twice as likely to lose a home to eviction or foreclosure than the typical U.S. resident before COVID-19 hit, and the rate of housing loss is expected to climb significantly because of the pandemic as well as rising home prices and rents, according to a new study," reports Catherine Reagor. 

Reagor is sharing data from a report published recently by New America, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The study, titled "Displaced in America," identified the U.S. areas with the most acute pre-existing housing losses to predict where the COVID-19 crisis will hit renters and homeowners the hardest, explains Reagor. 

Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, had a housing loss rate of 4.5% between 2014 and 2018, more than double the national average, but some locations around the country had even higher housing loss rates, according to the report. Petersburg, Virginia, had the highest housing loss rate at 12.1%.

Reagor includes an explanation of the report's focus on the future of the housing and eviction crisis expected to hit the country as eviction and foreclosure moratoriums expire, including a section describing how the Maricopa County eviction process favors landlords. Reagor also lists the recommendations from the New America report that provides recommendations, specific to the Phoenix area, for mitigating the worst housing lost outcomes at risk with the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.