Foreclosure activity jumped up in May, according to a new report from ATTOM.
The Irvine, Calif.-based real estate data company on Thursday released its May 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which found there were a total of 35,196 properties with foreclosure filings — including default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions — up 7% from April and up 14% from a year earlier.
“The recent increase in foreclosure filings nationwide indicates a trend that has been observed throughout the year, and what we have expected to occur,” said ATTOM CEO Rob Barber. “This upward trajectory suggests the possibility of continued heightened activity, and with foreclosure completions seeing the largest monthly increase this year, we will continue to monitor the potential impacts this may have on the housing market.”
Nationwide one in every 3,967 housing units had a foreclosure filing in May, ATTOM said. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Illinois (one in every 2,144 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Maryland (one in every 2,203 housing units); New Jersey (one in every 2,257 units); Florida (one in every 2,470 units); and Ohio (one in every 2,478 units).
Among the 223 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in May 2023 were Lakeland, Fla. (one in every 1,361 housing units); Elkhart, Ind. (one in every 1,621 units); Cleveland (one in every 1,622 units); Palm Bay, Fla. (one in every 1,647 units); and Ocala, Fla. (one in every 1,671 units).
The metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million with the worst foreclosure rates in May 2023, including Cleveland, were: Jacksonville, Fla. (one in every 1,699 units); Baltimore (one in every 1,908 units); Chicago (one in every 1,991 units); and Orlando (one in every 2,049 units).
ATTOM said lenders started the foreclosure process on 23,245 U.S. properties in May 2023, up 4% from April and up 5% year over year.
States that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts in May included Florida (2,901 foreclosure starts); California (2,451 starts); Texas (2,286 starts); Illinois (1,358 starts); and New York (1,287 starts).
The major metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1 million that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts in May included: New York City, (1,452 foreclosure starts); Chicago (1,163 starts); Houston (811 starts); Los Angeles (700 starts); and Philadelphia (677 starts).
Lenders also repossessed 4,020 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in May, up 38% from April and 41% from a year earlier.
States with the greatest number of REOs in May included Illinois (352 REOs); Ohio (279 REOs); Michigan (271 REOs); Texas (240 REOs); and Pennsylvania (229 REOs);
Those major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population of more than 1 million that saw the greatest number of REOs in May 2023 included New York City (244 REOs); Chicago (230 REOs); Detroit (136 REOs); St. Louis (112 REOs); and Washington, D.C. (91 REOs).
The ATTOM U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the ATTOM Data Warehouse during the month and quarter. Some filings entered into the database during the quarter may have been recorded in the previous quarter. Data is collected from more than 3,000 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 99% of the U.S. population.
