ATTOM: Foreclosure Activity up 27% in October

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., reported 105,481 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings–default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions–in October, up 27 percent from a 129-month low in September but still down 8 percent from a year ago.

The company’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report said October marked the 13th consecutive month where U.S. foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis, but the month-over-month increase in October was the biggest monthly increase since August 2007.

Counter to the national trend, 28 states and the District of Columbia posted year-over-year increases in overall foreclosure activity in October, including New York (up 10 percent), Pennsylvania (up 20 percent), Ohio (up 4 percent), Georgia (up 22 percent), Virginia (up 15 percent), Massachusetts (up 11 percent), Arizona (up 17 percent), Indiana (up 3 percent), Wisconsin (up 3 percent) and Colorado (up 64 percent).

“While some states are still slogging through the remnants of the last housing crisis, the foreclosure activity increases in states such as Arizona, Colorado and Georgia are more heavily tied to loans originated since 2009–after most of the risky lending fueling the last housing boom had stopped,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. “The increase in October isn’t enough evidence to indicate a new foreclosure crisis emerging in these states, but it certainly demonstrates that this housing recovery is not completely devoid of risk.”

The report showed a national foreclosure rate of one in every 1,258 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing in September.

States with the highest foreclosure rates in September were Delaware (one in every 355 housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (one in every 564 housing units); Maryland (one in every 679 housing units); Illinois (one in every 704 housing units); and South Carolina (one in every 801 housing units).

“We would expect to see an increase in Florida foreclosure activity in the coming months given the October ruling by the state supreme court there that allows lenders to re-file a foreclosure action against a homeowner in default even if a previous foreclosure case against that homeowner was dismissed and that original foreclosure case was filed more than five years ago, outside the state’s statute of limitations for foreclosure,” Blomquist said.

ATTOM reported 43,352 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in October, up 25 percent from the previous month, but still down 11 percent from a year ago. October marked the 16th consecutive month with a year-over-year decrease in foreclosure starts, but the 25 percent month-to-month increase in October was the biggest month-to-month increase in foreclosure starts since December 2008.

Counter to the national trend, 23 states and the District of Columbia posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts, including New York (up 15 percent), Ohio (up 34 percent), Virginia (up 15 percent), Arizona (up 48 percent) and Colorado (up 71 percent).

The report said 34,288 U.S. properties were repossessed by lenders in October, up 25 percent from the previous month, but still down 6 percent from a year ago. October marked the eighth consecutive month with an annual decrease in REOs, but the monthly increase in October was the biggest monthly increase since July 2015.

Counter to the national trend, 22 states and the District of Columbia posted year-over-year increases in REOs in October, including Texas (up 38 percent), Georgia (up 53 percent), Virginia (up 17 percent), Massachusetts (up 104 percent) and Wisconsin (up 45 percent).

ATTOM reported 43,815 U.S. properties in October were scheduled for a future public foreclosure auction (which in some states are foreclosure starts), up 30 percent from the previous month but still down 6 percent from a year ago. October marked the 16th consecutive month with an annual decrease in scheduled foreclosure auctions, but the monthly increase in October was the biggest monthly increase since January 2006.

Counter to the national trend, 25 states and the District of Columbia posted year-over-year increases in scheduled foreclosure auctions in October, including New York (up 12 percent), Illinois (up 34 percent), Pennsylvania (up 66 percent), New Jersey (up 6 percent) and Indiana (up 37 percent).

Among 216 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in October were York-Hanover, Pa. (one in every 274 housing units); Atlantic City, N.J. (one in every 301 housing units); Rockford, Ill. (one in every 481 housing units); Columbia, S.C. (one in every 498 housing units); and Trenton, N.J. (one in every 499 housing units).

Earlier this week, CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., reported completed mortgage foreclosures increased by 5.2 percent to 36,000 in September from the 34,000 in August, but fell by 7 percent from a year ago.

The company’s monthly National Foreclosure Report said by comparison, September foreclosures fell by nearly 70 percent from the nationwide peak in September 2010 (118,222). Before the Great Recession, foreclosure averaged 21,000 per month.

The report also noted the national foreclosure inventory fell to 340,000 homes, or 0.9 percent of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 493,000 homes (1.3 percent) from a year ago, a drop of 31.1 percent.