A new report from ATTOM Data shows that foreclosure activity in 2024 was on the decline compared to the year prior, a possible indicator of a balanced market and careful lending practices.
According to ATTOM’s Year-End 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure proceedings were reported on 322,103 U.S. properties for the whole of 2024—a 0.23% share of all U.S. housing units, a slight decline from 0.25% in 2023 and 0.36% in 2019. This marks a 10% decline from 2023, a 1% decline from 2022, a 35% decline from 2019 and an 89% decline from 2010 (a 15-year year timespan).
“The continued decline in foreclosure activity throughout 2024 suggests a housing market that may be stabilizing, even as economic uncertainties persist,” said ATTOM CEO Rob Barber in a statement. “This year’s data points to foreclosure trends potentially returning to more predictable levels, offering some clarity for industry professionals, investors and homeowners. While foreclosure filings remain a critical metric for understanding market health, current trends may point to a more balanced landscape, potentially shaped by careful lending practices and ongoing homeowner resilience.”
Foreclosure starts measured 253,306 as a raw number in 2024, a 6% decrease from 2023, a 174% gain from 2021, a 25% decline from 2019 and an 88% decrease from a 2,139,005 peak in 2009—at the height of the Great Recession. The gain from the 2021 timeframe can likely be attributed to the moratorium on foreclosures that was put in place by Congress, but was allowed to sunset after the pandemic subsided.
Metros with a population greater than 1 million that had the highest raw number of foreclosure starts in 2024 were New York City to, New York (15,327); Chicago, Illinois (11,508); Houston, Texas (10,197); Los Angeles, California (8,790); and Miami, Florida (8,603), per the report.
Bank lenders repossessed 36,505 properties via foreclosure in 2024—a 13% decline from 2023 and a 75% decline from 2019 when there were 143,955 foreclosures via lender repossession. This figure also represented a 97% decline from the 2010 peak of 1,050,500. The report went on to note that states with the highest number of bank initiated repossessions in 2024 were California (3,466), Illinois (2,858), Pennsylvania (2,828), Michigan (2,629) and Texas (2,501).
U.S. properties foreclosed on in Q4 2024 had been in the foreclosure process an average of 762 days, a 6% decline from Q3 2024, but a 6% increase year-over-year.
The report also noted that other key data from December 2024 specifically had one out of every 4,922 properties with a foreclosure filing nationwide for the month. For December 2024, 19,376 properties began the foreclosure process, a 4% decline from November and a 5% decline from December 2023. Also in December, states with the highest foreclosure rates were Nevada (one in 2,707), Indiana (one in 2,833), Maryland (one in 3,253), Utah (one in 3,257) and New Jersey (one in 3,275). The report also showed there were 28,632 U.S. foreclosure filings for the month, a 3% decline from November and a 6% decline year-over-year.
