Likelihood of eviction or foreclosure, by state

Food & Shelter
Written By Alysha Rashid

31% of Southerners who are late on rent/mortgage said they feared losing their home. In KY, GA, AL, and TN, it is above 41%.

Likelihood of eviction or foreclosure, Mar 1-13, 2023

Percent of adults living in households not current on rent or mortgage where eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is “very likely” or “somewhat likely”

Though home sale prices year-over-year fell for the first time in February 2023 after over a decade of continued increases, the housing market remains tight.1,2 31% of Southerners (27% of non-Southerners) who are past-due on rent or mortgage fear that eviction or foreclosure is likely. Among Southern states, fears are highest in KY (44%), GA (42%), AL (41%), and TN (41%).

Across the nation, Americans share their struggle to find affordable housing options.3,4,5,6 The National Low Income Housing Association’s report, The Gap, finds a shortage of 7.3 million affordable housing options nationwide.7 Respondents to a Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP) survey in AL, GA, and MS said affordable housing was their community’s greatest challenge.8 And yet only 4 Southern states (NC, GA, TN, VA) have dedicated a portion of American Rescue Plan funds to housing as of December 2022.9

Studies have found growing evidence of a link between housing instability and health outcomes.10,11 More than 1 in 4 Southern renters have to spend the majority of their household income on rent and utilities — leaving less money for families to cover food, clothing, medical care, and other necessities, and putting them at higher risk of eviction (Housing cost burden).12,13 This can lead to higher levels of stress, increased chronic conditions, and food insecurity.14,15

  1. “America’s Rental Housing, 2022”. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_Americas_Rental_Housing_2022.pdf 

  2. “Existing-Home Sales Surged 14.5% in February, Ending 12-Month Streak of Declines”. National Association of Realtors. March, 2023. https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/existing-home-sales-surged-14-5-in-february-ending-12-month-streak-of-declines 

  3. “Louisiana faces shortage of affordable housing for low income households”. Johnson. KNOE. March, 2023. https://www.knoe.com/2023/03/17/louisiana-faces-shortage-affordable-housing-low-income-households/

  4. “Valdosta leaders address affordable housing concerns following federal funding grant”. Petrie. WALB. February, 2023. https://www.walb.com/2023/02/21/georgia-senators-address-affordable-housing-needs-valdosta-statewide/

  5. “Housing insecurity increasing concern among disabled renters”. Patterson. Bay News 9. April, 2023. https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2023/04/10/housing-insecurity-increasing-concern-among-disabled-renters

  6. “‘It’s Becoming Too Expensive to Live’: Anxious Older Adults Try to Cope With Limited Budgets”. Graham. KFF. September, 2022. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/elder-index-seniors-economic-insecurity-inflation-disability-rent/ 

  7. “The Gap”. National Low Income Housing Coalition. https://nlihc.org/gap 

  8. “Two years into the pandemic, Southern families’ struggle with housing weighs heavy as lawmakers begin ARP spending plans”. The Southern Economic Advancement Project. March, 2022. https://theseap.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ARP-Survey-Release_March_2022.pdf 

  9. “Fiscal Recovery Fund Spending by States, U.S. Territories”. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/resource-lists/fiscal-recovery-funds-in-the-american-rescue-plan 

  10. “Rental assistance improves food security and nutrition: An analysis of National Survey Data”. Denary, Fenelon, Whittaker, Esserman, Lipska, and Keene. National Library of Medicine. February, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36813247/ 

  11. “Severe Housing Cost Burden”. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/explore-health-rankings/county-health-rankings-model/health-factors/physical-environment/housing-and-transit/severe-housing-cost-burden?year=2023 

  12. “Housing Cost Burden, Material Hardship, and WellBeing”. Shamsuddin, Campbell. Housing Policy Debate. March, 2021. https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Housing-Cost-Burden-Material-Hardship-and-Well-Being.pdf

  13. “The Rent Eats First – Rental Housing Unaffordability in the US”. Airgood-Obrycki, Hermann, and Wedeen. Joint Center for Housing Studies. January, 2021. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/research/files/harvard_jchs_rent_eats_first_airgood-obrycki_hermann_wedeen_2021.pdf

  14. “Housing Instability” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/housing-instability#:~:text=and%20Community%20Context-,Literature%20Summary,harder%20to%20access%20health%20care. 

  15. “YSPH study links rental assistance with increased food security and nutrition”. Viswanathan. Yale Daily News. April, 2023. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/04/13/ysph-study-links-rental-assistance-with-increased-food-security-and-nutrition/

Alysha Rashid
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