Residential foreclosure activity last month dropped to its lowest level since November 2005,
according to new statistics released by ATTOM Data Solutions.
There were 77,049 foreclosure filings—including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—reported in April, a seven percent drop from the previous month and a 23 percent plummet from April 2016. One in every 1,723 housing units had a foreclosure filing in April.
During April, 34,085 residential properties started the foreclosure process, a six percent decline from March and a 22 percent year-over-year decline. Lenders completed foreclosure on 25,990 residential properties in April, which was nine percent lower than March’s level and 22 percent below the April 2016 level—it was also the lowest level since February 2015.
New Jersey had the highest foreclosure rate among the states, with one in every 562 housing units burdened by a foreclosure filing), while that state’s ailing seaside resort Atlantic City had the highest metro foreclosure rate with one in every 237 housing units.
“Foreclosure activity continued to search for a new post-recession floor in April thanks in large part to the above-par performance of mortgages originated in the past seven years,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “Meanwhile we are seeing an elevated share of repeat foreclosures on homeowners who often fell into default several years ago but have not been able to avoid foreclosure despite the housing recovery.”
