Foreclosure Volume Expected to Rise to Close Out 2023

Auction.com has released its 2023 Seller Insights Report which found that approximately 92% of default servicing industry leaders expect completed foreclosure volume to increase in 2023 compared to 2022, while 85% expect home prices to decline in 2023 compared to 2022.

The 2023 Seller Insights Report also revealed that economic conditions will have the biggest impact on foreclosure volumes for the remainder of 2023.

“The default servicing industry is on the frontlines of efforts to prevent foreclosure and keep more people in their homes,” said Auction.com CEO Jason Allnutt. “Those efforts successfully prevented myriad foreclosures during the pandemic and are continuing in earnest, which helps to explain why most in the default servicing industry are expecting foreclosure volume to increase only slightly to close out 2023.”

Auction.com’s report is based on a June 2023 survey of more than 50 leaders in the default mortgage servicing industry at the Auction.com Disposition Summit in Dallas. Survey respondents included an array of mortgage servicing professionals, from default servicing leaders in the mortgage asset investor arena, bank servicers, non-bank servicers, government agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).

More than nine in 10 Auction.com seller clients surveyed (92%) said they expect their organization’s completed foreclosure volume to increase in 2023 compared to 2022. Most of the 92% said they expect a slight increase (77%). The remaining 15% said they expect a substantial increase.

Among the 8% who said they expect their organization’s foreclosure volume to decrease in 2023, 6% said they expect a slight decrease and 2% said they expect a substantial decrease.

A similar percentage of Auction.com clients surveyed in 2022 (90%) expected an increase in foreclosure volume last year, with 74% expecting a slight increase.

Actual foreclosure volume (completed foreclosure auctions) in 2022 increased 23% from 2021, according to data from ATTOM Data Solutions.

Survey respondents from bank servicers were most likely to expect an increase in foreclosure volume in 2023 (100%) while survey respondents from non-bank servicers were least likely to expect increasing foreclosure volume (85%).

“Auction.com clients expect delinquent loans at the top of the distressed market funnel will gradually move to the bottom of the funnel in the second half of 2023, returning foreclosure volume closer to the levels we saw back in 2019,” said Ali Haralson, Auction.com President.

Respondents felt that economic conditions will have the biggest impact on foreclosure volumes for the remainder of 2023. Respondents also expect roll rates from delinquency to foreclosure to continue to rebound back closer to pre-pandemic levels for the remainder of 2023.

Those roll rates dropped to historically low levels during the pandemic with its emergency foreclosure prevention efforts. Other survey findings in the report:

• 77% of respondents expect a “slight” increase in foreclosure volume while 15% expect a “substantial” increase.
• 77% of respondents expect home prices to decline by single-digit percentages in 2023 while 9% expect a double-digit decline.
• Survey respondents estimated an average loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 82.3% for seriously delinquent loans in their portfolio.
• Respondents ranked loss mitigation delays as their top disposition challenge.

“While loss mitigation delays can be challenging from a disposition perspective, those delays are evidence that default servicers are going the extra mile when it comes to helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and protect home equity,” added Joe Cutrona, Chief Business Officer for Auction.com.

Click here to read the entire Auction.com 2023 Seller Insights Report.