Foreclosure Activity Increases as Moratorium Lifted
U.S. Foreclosure Starts Increase 67 Percent From a Year Ago
ATTOM, licensor of the nation’s most comprehensive foreclosure data and parent company to RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com), the largest online marketplace for foreclosure and distressed properties, released its Q3 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 45,517 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — up 34 percent from the previous quarter and 68 percent from a year ago.
The report also shows there were a total of 19,609 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in September 2021, up 24 percent from the previous month and up 102 percent from September 2020.
“Despite the increased level of foreclosure activity in September, we’re still far below historically normal numbers,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president at RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company. “September foreclosure actions were almost 70 percent lower than they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in September of 2019, and Q3 foreclosure activity was 60 percent lower than the same quarter that year. Even with similar increases in foreclosures over the next few months, we’ll end the year significantly below what we’d see in a normal housing market.”
Foreclosure Starts Jump Up Nationwide
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 25,209 U.S. properties in Q3 2021, up 32 percent from the previous quarter and up 67 percent from a year ago — the first double digit quarterly percent increase since 2014.
States that posted the greatest number of foreclosure starts in Q3 2021, included California (3,434 foreclosure starts); Texas (2,827 foreclosure starts); Florida (2,546 foreclosure starts); New York (1,363 foreclosure starts); and Illinois (1,362 foreclosure starts).
Among the 220 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report those that posted the greatest number of foreclosure starts in Q3 2021, included New York, New York (1,456 foreclosure starts); Chicago, Illinois (1,122 foreclosure starts); Los Angeles, California (1,102 foreclosure starts); Miami, Florida (992 foreclosure starts); and Houston, Texas (866 foreclosure starts).
Counter to the national trend of quarterly increases, among those metropolitan areas with a population greater than one million that saw a decline in foreclosure starts in Q3 2021 were Charlotte, North Carolina (down 32 percent); Portland, Oregon (down 26 percent); Rochester, New York (down 17 percent); San Jose, California (down 13 percent); and Hartford, Connecticut (down 6 percent).
Highest Foreclosure Rates in Nevada, Illinois and Delaware
Nationwide one in every 3,019 properties had a foreclosure filing in Q3 2021. States with the highest foreclosure rates in Q3 2021 were Nevada (one in every 1,463 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Illinois (one in every 1,465); Delaware (one in every 1,515); New Jersey (one in every 1,667); and Florida (one in every 1,743).
Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report, those with the highest foreclosure rates in Q3 2021 were Atlantic City, New Jersey (one in every 709 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Peoria, Illinois (one in every 754); Bakersfield, CA (one in every 923); Cleveland, Ohio (one in every 936); and Las Vegas, Nevada (one in every 1,167).
September 2021 Foreclosure Activity High-Level Takeaways
• Nationwide in September 2021 one in every 7,008 properties had a foreclosure filing.
• States with the highest foreclosure rates in September 2021 were Florida (one in every 3,276 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Illinois (one in every 3,508 housing units); Delaware (one in every 3,834 housing units); Nevada (one in every 4,009 housing units); and New Jersey (one in every 4,487 housing units).
• 10,289 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in September 2021, up 23 percent from the previous month and up 106 percent from a year ago.
• Lenders completed the foreclosure process on 2,682 U.S. properties in September 2021, up 8 percent from the previous month and up 33 percent from a year ago.
