Foreclosure filing have sagged to an all-time low in the first six months of the year, according to ATTOM Data Solution’s [1] Midyear 2020 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.
During that period, 65,530 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions plummeted 44% from the same time period a year ago. Foreclosure filings were down 54% from the same period two years ago.
Among 220 metro areas analyzed in the report—including Stockton, California, which saw a spike of 161%; Chico, California (61%); and McAllen, Texas (42%); Lake Havasu, Arizona (39%); and Fort Wayne, Indiana (21%)—10 deviated from the national trend in light of an uptick in foreclosures contrasted to a year ago.
Nationally, the residential foreclosure market continued to contract amid a cocktail of booming housing market conditions predating the current Coronavirus pandemic and a freeze on activity while the country contended with the crisis, said Ohan Antebian, General Manager, RealtyTrac.
“Last year, foreclosure starts and completions already were quickly descending, spurred by the housing market and a high-riding economy. Today, as the federal government has banned lenders from pursuing most delinquent loans until at least the end of August 2020 to help people weather the pandemic, they’ve declined to lows unsees for at least 15 years,” Antebian said.
In the first half of the year, nationally, 0.12% of all housing units—or one in every 824—had a foreclosure filing. In the first half, Delaware, at 0.28% of housing units, topped the list of foreclosures rates, followed by New Jersey, 0.25%; Illinois, 0.24%; Maryland, 0.21%; and Connecticut, 0.18%.
Meantime, of 220 metropolitan areas with a minimum population of 200,000, at 0.37%, Peoria, Illinois headed the pack in the first half of 2020 housing units with foreclosure rates. It was followed by Trenton, New Jersey, at 0.36%; Rockford, Illinois, 0.36%; Atlantic City, New Jersey, 0.32%; and Lake Havasu, Arizona, 0.30%.
In April, Foreclosure Market Report from ATTOM Data Solutions indicated a drop in foreclosures at the outset of the year, with possible sustained low levels over the next few months, according to DS News [2].
In Q1 2020, there was a decline in foreclosure starts, foreclosures timelines, and bank repossessions.
Foreclosure activity receded 3% over the year in Q2. During the quarter, disclosure filings impacted 156,253 properties, while foreclosure starts withdrew 11% over the year in Q1. During the course of the same period, there was a 19% drop in average disclosure timeless.