ATTOM: May Foreclosure Filings Up

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said foreclosure filings ticked up in May but fell sharply from a year ago.

ATTOM reported 81,495 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in May, up by 5 percent from April but down by 19 percent from a year ago, the 20th consecutive year over year decline.

The report said 35,787 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in May, up by 5 percent from the previous month but down by 15 percent from a year ago, continuing an annual percent decline. Lenders completed foreclosure on 27,086 U.S. properties in May, up by 4 percent from the previous month but down by 20 percent from a year ago.

Nationwide, ATTOM said one in every 1,636 housing units had a foreclosure filing in May.

The report said states with the highest foreclosure rates were New Jersey (one in every 515); Delaware (one in every 753); Maryland (one in every 1,006); Illinois (one in every 1,057); and Oklahoma (one in every 1,081).

Among 217 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in May were Atlantic City, N.J. (one in every 271 housing units); Trenton, N.J. (one in every housing 508); Fayetteville, N.C. (one in every 523); Rockford, Ill. (one in every 690); and Philadelphia (one in every 722).