The housing market has shown some promising signs of late, but a fresh batch of foreclosure data offers a reminder that any recovery from the housing bust will likely be slow, spotty and painful.

Home foreclosure activity in the US surged to the highest level since the start of the pandemic, a sign that the financial aftermath of COVID-19 has been wearing out cash-strapped homeowners.

A brown stucco home with palm trees and a foreclosure sign in the front yard. In the past couple of years, foreclosures in the U.S. hit record lows largely due to Covid-19 relief efforts provided to ...