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Foreclosing Filings Fall During First Half of 2020

ATTOM Data Solutions reported that default notices, scheduled actions on bank repossessions, and foreclosure filings hit an all-time low of 165,530 during the first half of 2020.

Nationally, 0.12% of all housing units—one in every 824 homes—had a foreclosure filing during the first six months of the year.

Foreclosures in Stockton, California, rose 161%; Chico, California (61%); McAllen, Texas (42%); Lake Havasu, Arizona (39%); and Fort Wayne, Indiana (21%).

Meantime, Delaware’s 0.28% of housing units with a foreclosure filing; New Jersey’s 0.25%; Illinois’s 0.24%; Maryland’s 0.21%; and Connecticut’s 0.18%, paced states with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of the year. They were followed by South Carolina (0.18%); Florida (0.17%); Ohio (0.16%); and North Carolina and Georgia both coming in at 0.14%.

Examining 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of a minimum of 200,000, Peoria, Illinois, had 0.37% of housing units with a foreclosure filing; Trenton, New Jersey had 0.36%; Rockford, Illinois, had 0.36%; Atlantic City, New Jersey, was at 0.32%; and Lake Havasu, Arizona’s, reported foreclosure filings of 0.30%, were among those with the highest foreclosures rates in the first half of 2020, according to the report.

And the list keeps mounting, with Fayetteville, North Carolina at 0.27% of housing units with a foreclosure filing; Bakersfield, California (0.27%); while Columbia, South Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; and Cleveland, Ohio, all coming in at 0.25%.

The beginning of the year saw a decline in foreclosure activity, which, over the next few months, which ATTOM reported could continue at low levels, according to its prior report. There also was a sag in foreclosure starts, foreclosure timelines, and bank repossessions in the first quarter of the year.

Additionally, there was a 3% decline in foreclosure activity over the year in Q1 2020. During the quarter, 156,253 properties with foreclosure filings during the quarter was reported.

Foreclosure activity was down 3% over the year in Q1 2020 with 156,253 properties with foreclosure filings during the quarter.

Annually, there was a 11% drop in foreclosure starts. During the same period, average foreclosure timelines dropped 19%.

Foreclosure filings were one-sixth of their level in the aftermath of the Great Recession, pointed out Todd Teta, Chief Product Officer at ATTOM Solutions.

That said, these are uncertain times, most economists noted. The good news from the Q1 report “comes with a huge caveat because it captures the pivotal month when millions of Americans started losing their jobs because of the economic fallout connected to the Coronavirus pandemic,” Teta said.

About Author: Chuck Green

Chuck Green has contributed to the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune and others covering various industries, including real estate, business and banking, technology, and sports.
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