ATTOM’s May 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report [1] has found there were a total of 10,821 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings—encompassing default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions—down 8% from a month ago, but up 23% year-over-year. Foreclosure starts, which represent the initial notice of default, grew by 36% year-over-year.
The May 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows that, nationwide, one in every 12,700 housing units had a foreclosure filing. States with the highest foreclosure rates in the month of May included:
- Nevada (one in every 5,535 housing units with a foreclosure filing)
- Delaware (one in every 5,854 housing units)
- Illinois (one in every 5,903 housing units)
- Florida (one in every 7,207 housing units)
- New Jersey (one in every 7,679 housing units)
"While the increase in foreclosure activity is significant, it's important to keep these numbers in perspective," said RealtyTrac EVP Rick Sharga [2]. "Last year's numbers were extraordinarily low due to the implementation of the foreclosure moratorium and the CARES Act mortgage forbearance program, so the year-over-year numbers look a lot more dramatic than they are. And May foreclosure activity actually declined compared to April."
Among the 220 metro areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in May 2021 included:
- Champaign, Illinois (one in every 2,420 housing units with a foreclosure filing)
- Peoria, Illinois (one in every 3,030 housing units)
- Cleveland, Ohio (one in every 3,715 housing units)
- Bakersfield, California (one in every 3,774 housing units)
- Mobile, Alabama (one in every 4,174 housing units)
Lenders began the foreclosure process on 5,909 properties in May 2021, down 7% from April 2021, and up 36% from a year ago. Counter to the national trend, states that had at least 100 foreclosure starts in May 2021 and saw the greatest monthly increase in foreclosure starts included:
- Ohio (+96%)
- Alabama (+78%)
- Michigan (+65%)
- Georgia (+61%)
- Virginia (+50%)
Lenders repossessed 1,315 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in May 2021, down 15% from April’s totals, and down 54 percent from May 2020. Those states that had the greatest number of REOs in May 2021, included:
- California (154 REOs)
- Florida (148 REOs)
- Illinois (144 REOs)
- Texas (83 REOs)
- Ohio (70 REOs)
The number of U.S. homes in forbearance plans continues to decline, as this week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported [3] that approximately two million homeowners are currently in forbearance plans. In total, a 4.04% share of all mortgage volume is in a state of forbearance, marking the 15th consecutive week of decline on the forbearance front.
Another positive sign is the uptick in employment, with the U.S. Department of Labor reporting [4] initial unemployment claims 376,000 for the week ending June 5, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 385,000, marking the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000.