As the country continues to return to normal after two years of COVID-related restrictions, so does the number of housing foreclosures.
That’s the takeaway for ATTOM officials as they analyze the company’s February 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.
The report shows there were a total of 25,833 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions, an 11% increase from a month ago and up 129% from a year ago.
"February foreclosure activity looks a lot like what we can expect to see for at least the next six months – double digit month-over-month growth, and triple digit year-over-year increases," said Rick Sharga, executive vice president at RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company. "This isn't an indication of economic turmoil, or of weakness in the housing market; it's simply the gradual return to normal levels of foreclosure activity after two years of artificially low numbers due to government and industry efforts to protect financially-impacted homeowners from defaulting."
According to the report, lenders repossessed 2,634 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in February 2022, down 45% from last month but up 70% from last year.
Lenders repossessed 2,634 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in February 2022, down 45% from last month but up 70% from last year., the report said.
Lenders also started the foreclosure process on 16,545 U.S. properties in February 2022, up 40 percent from last month and 176 percent from a year ago.
States that saw the greatest numbers of foreclosure starts in February 2022 included: California (1,868 foreclosure starts); Florida (1,527 foreclosure starts); Texas (1,488 foreclosure starts); Illinois (1,168 foreclosure starts); and Ohio (1,144 foreclosure starts).
Among the 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those that had the greatest numbers of foreclosure starts in February 2022, included: Chicago, Illinois (1,075 foreclosure starts); New York, New York (793 foreclosure starts); Los Angeles, California (530 foreclosure starts); Houston, Texas (471 foreclosure starts); and Atlanta, Georgia (415 foreclosure starts).
Analysts also noted that there were decreases in foreclosures in some parts of the country.
States that had at least 100 or more REOs and saw the greatest monthly decreases in completed foreclosures in February 2022 included: Michigan (down 81%); Texas (down 58%); California (down 52%); Florida (down 43%); and New Jersey (down 27%).
Major metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 200,000 that had 25 or more REOs in February 2022 and saw the greatest monthly decreases in completed foreclosures included: Detroit, Michigan (down 87% ); Los Angeles (down 63%); St. Louis, Missouri (down 50%); Riverside, California (down 46%); and New York, New York (down 40 %).
"The reduced number of foreclosure completions suggests that much of the activity we saw in January was a result of mortgage servicers catching up on processing loans that had been in foreclosure or very seriously delinquent prior to the pandemic and the moratorium," Sharga said. "We can expect more month-to-month volatility as servicers and the court systems work through some of these backlogs."
