First quarter foreclosure activity was below pre-recession levels nationwide and in 102 out of 216 metropolitan statistical areas, ATTOM Data Solutions reported Thursday.
Irvine-based ATTOM said its Q1 and March 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 234,508 U.S. properties in the first quarter of 2017, down 11% from the previous quarter and down 19% from a year ago to the lowest level since Q3 2006.
The first-quarter foreclosure activity total was 16% below the pre-recession average of 278,912 properties with foreclosure filings each quarter between Q1 2006 and Q3 2007.
“U.S. foreclosure activity on a quarterly basis first dipped below pre-recession averages in the fourth quarter of last year, and this report shows that trend continuing for the second consecutive quarter,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. “The number of local markets dropping below pre-recession levels continues to grow, up from 78 a year ago to 102 in this report.”
The 102 local markets with first quarter foreclosure activity below pre-recession averages included Los Angeles (46% below); Dallas (73% below); Houston (52% below); Miami (44% below); and Atlanta (67% below). In 114 out of the 216 markets analyzed (53%), first quarter foreclosure activity levels were still above pre-recession averages, including New York (80% above); Chicago (9% above); Philadelphia (97% above); Washington, D.C. (64% above); and Boston (26% above).
The report also shows a total of 83,145 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in March 2017, up 1% from the previous month but down 24% from a year ago — the 18th consecutive month with a year-over-year decrease in overall U.S. foreclosure activity.
A total of 36,370 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in March, up 6% from the previous month but still down 24% from a year ago. March marked the second consecutive month with a month-over-month increase in foreclosure starts, but foreclosure starts were down on a year-over-year basis for the 21st consecutive month in March.
Lenders completed the foreclosure process on 28,634 U.S. properties in March, down 4% from the previous month and down 15 percent from a year ago.
States with the highest foreclosure rates in March were New Jersey (one in every 497 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Maryland (one in every 820 housing units); Nevada (one in every 857 housing units); Delaware (one in every 858 housing units); and Illinois (one in every 863 housing units).
Among 216 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in March were Trenton, New Jersey (one in every 355 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Atlantic City, New Jersey (one in every 452 housing units); Philadelphia (one in every 577 housing units); Rockford, Illinois (one in every 631 housing units); and Peoria, Illinois (one in every 710 housing units).
