ATTOM’s January 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows there were a total of 31,557 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, up 36 percent from a year ago, and up 2 percent from the prior month.
“The uptick in overall foreclosure filings nationwide points toward a trend that may suggest more increased activity is on the horizon as we enter the new year,” says ATTOM CEO Rob Barber. “While both completed foreclosures and foreclosure starts have stalled slightly over the past month, the annual increase in overall activity seen over the past 21 months may indicate a more substantial trend that could continue into 2023.”
Lenders repossessed 3,896 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in January, up 6 percent from last month but down 19 percent from last year – the first annual decrease in completed foreclosures since June 2021.
States that had at least 100 or more REOs and that saw the greatest annual decreases in January included Florida (down 53 percent); Maryland (down 23 percent); Michigan (down 22 percent); New Jersey (down 15 percent); and Texas (down 14 percent).
Counter to the national trend, only three states with 100 or more REOs in January saw an annual increase, including New York (up 76 percent); Pennsylvania (up 12 percent); and California (up 4 percent).
Major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population greater than 200,000 that saw the greatest number of REOs included Detroit (783 REOs); Chicago (206 REOs); New York (149 REOs); Philadelphia (100 REOs); and Riverside, Calif. (66 REOs).
Nationwide, one in every 4,425 housing units had a foreclosure filing in January. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Delaware (one in every 2,109 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Illinois (one in every 2,279 housing units); Michigan (one in every 2,617 housing units); New Jersey (one in every 2,858 housing units); and Maryland (one in every 2,967 housing units).
Among the 223 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in January were Fayetteville, N.C. (one in every 1,322 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Bakersfield, Calif. (one in every 1,522 housing units); Cleveland (one in every 1,557 housing units); Detroit (one in every 1,575 housing units); and Laredo, Texas (one in every 1,953 housing units).
Other than Cleveland and Detroit, among the metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million, those with the worst foreclosure rates in January 2023 included: Chicago (one in every 2,074 housing units); Riverside, Calif. (one in every 2,123 housing units); and Las Vegas (one in every 2,341 housing units).
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 20,752 U.S. properties in January, down 1 percent from last month but up 75 percent from a year ago.
States that saw the greatest number of foreclosures starts in January 2023 included California (2,513 foreclosure starts); Texas (2,136 foreclosure starts); Florida (1,725 foreclosure starts); New York (1,375 foreclosure starts); and Illinois (1,309 foreclosure starts).
Among major metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the greatest number of foreclosure starts in January included New York (1,370 foreclosure starts); Chicago (1,156 foreclosure starts); Los Angeles (774 foreclosure starts); Houston (629 foreclosure starts); and Philadelphia (612 foreclosure starts).
Photo by Johnson Johnson on Unsplash
