According to the 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Mid-Year Report released by real estate data provider ATTOM, foreclosure starts rose 15 percent in the first half of this year, approaching pre-COVID-19 levels. Nearly 186,000 properties were filed for foreclosure nationwide during this period.
ATTOM collected data from more than 3,000 counties where property owners received notices of default and pendency, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.
"While the overall level of foreclosure activity remains below historical norms, the significant surge in foreclosure starts suggests that we may continue to see an uptick in foreclosure activity for years to come," said Rob Barber, ATTOM CEO, in a statement.
Those who remember the foreclosure crisis during the Great Recession need not panic.
Many of the foreclosures that were supposed to happen during the ravages of COVID-19 were put on hold due to federal, state, and local moratoriums on foreclosures that were designed to keep people in their homes after a large number of workers were laid off during the ravages of COVID-19. In the first half of the year, only one out of every 752 properties was subject to foreclosure.
However, homeowners who can't pay their mortgages are having their properties repossessed. From January through June, lenders foreclosed on 22,672 properties. This is up 9% from last year, but still 40% below the same period in 2020.
Real estate experts emphasize that this is not a repeat of the Great Recession. This is not to say that many homeowners are suddenly unable to pay their mortgages. On the contrary, many lenders are now playing catch-up. Without the moratorium on foreclosures, foreclosures would have been canceled during the pandemic.
This explains why the average length of the foreclosure process is at an all-time high of 1,212 days, or more than three years.
Another key difference is that many of today's homeowners who lose their properties are not leaving empty-handed. Home prices have risen so much in the past few years that many homeowners who cannot afford their mortgages are choosing to sell their homes rather than go through foreclosure, which could damage their credit.
Many people profit from these sales, which can help them get back on their feet.
Which states have seen the largest increase in foreclosures?
The largest increase in foreclosures was in Maryland, which doubled from a year ago. Oregon is up 99 percent; Alaska is up 95 percent; West Virginia is up 83 percent; and Arkansas is up 72 percent.
However, the state with the highest foreclosure rate was Illinois. The state had the highest percentage of homes filing for foreclosure at 0.25 percent. Following Illinois were New Jersey, at 0.24 percent; Maryland, at 0.23 percent; Delaware, at 0.23 percent; and Ohio, at 0.20 percent.
Rounding out the top 10 were South Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Indiana and Connecticut.
Cleveland residents are most likely to file for foreclosure. The metro area, which includes the main city and surrounding neighborhoods, had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation at 0.33 percent. (The analysis only looked at 223 metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents.)
It was followed by Atlantic City, N.J. (0.33 percent); Fayetteville, N.C. (0.30 percent); Columbia, S.C. (0.29 percent); and Lakeland, Florida (0.29 percent). Other cities in the top 10 were Chicago, Jacksonville, FL, Florence, SC, Philadelphia, and Elkhart, IN.
