U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions, totaled 34,501 in August 2022, up 14% from a month earlier, and up 118% from a year ago, according to a new report by ATTOM Data Solutions.
In its August 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, the organization pointed out that the numbers show that foreclosure starts have now reached pre-pandemic levels nationwide. Lenders started the foreclosure process on 23,952 U.S. properties in August 2022, up 12% from last month and up 187& from a year ago.
Nationwide one in every 4,072 housing units had a foreclosure filing in August 2022. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Illinois, Delaware, South Carolina, New Jersey and Florida.
Key highlights from the report:
- Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas and Washington had the highest monthly increases from July to August in foreclosure starts.
- Lenders repossessed 3,938 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in August.
- Major cities with the greatest monthly increases in August foreclosures were Kansas City, MO; New York, NY; Philadelphia and Detroit.
- Counties with the greatest number of foreclosure starts in August 2022 included: Cook County, IL; Los Angeles County, CA; Harris County, TX; Suffolk County, NY; and Riverside County, CA.
The major takeaway:
“Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and after massive government intervention and mortgage industry efforts to prevent defaults, foreclosure starts have almost returned to 2019 levels,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “August foreclosure starts were at 86% of the number of foreclosure starts in August 2019, but it’s important to remember that even then, foreclosure activity was relatively low compared to historical averages.
“Repossessions are likely to continue running below pre-pandemic levels for several reasons, most importantly that over 90% of borrowers in foreclosure have positive equity in their homes, and would benefit from selling these properties at a profit rather than risk losing everything to a foreclosure auction or lender repossession,” Sharga noted.
To view the full report, click here.
