Foreclosure activity was down overall at the start of summer 2024, among growing signs that the housing market is normalizing.
Property data curator ATTOM’s Midyear U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows that there were a total of 177,431 foreclosure filings in the first six months of 2024 – down 4.4% from the first half of 2023, but up 7.8% from the same time frame two years ago.
“In contrast to the first half of 2023, foreclosure activity across the United States experienced a decline in the first half of 2024,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber commented. “In addition, U.S. foreclosure starts also decreased by three percent in the first six months of 2024. These shifts could suggest a potential stabilization in the housing market; however, monitoring these evolving patterns remains crucial to understanding the full impact on the real estate sector.”
This June, one in every 5,071 properties had a foreclosure filing. States with the highest foreclosure rates for the month were Illinois (one in every 3,041 housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (one in every 3,042 housing units); Florida (one in every 3,202 housing units); South Carolina (one in every 3,346 housing units); and Maryland (one in every 3,486 housing units).
A total of 18,574 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in June, down 17% from May and down 22.7% from June 2023. Lenders completed the foreclosure process on 2,891 U.S. properties in June, up 0.4% from the previous month and down 10% from June 2023.
States that saw the greatest increases in foreclosure activity compared to a year ago in the first half of 2024 included South Dakota (up 93%); North Dakota (up 86%); Kentucky (up 73%); Massachusetts (up 46%); and Idaho (up 30%).
Nationwide, 0.13% of all housing units (one in every 794) had a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2024.
States with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of 2024 were New Jersey (0.21% of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Illinois (0.21%); Florida (0.20%); Nevada (0.19%); and South Carolina (0.19%).
Other states with first-half foreclosure rates among the 10 highest nationwide were Maryland (0.19%); Connecticut (0.19%); Delaware (0.18%); Ohio (0.18%); and Indiana (0.16%).
Among the 224 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of 2024 were Lakeland, Florida (0.32% of housing units with foreclosure filings); Columbia, South Carolina (0.31%); Atlantic City, New Jersey (0.28%); Cleveland, Ohio (0.27%); and Spartanburg, South Carolina (0.27%).
Other major metro areas with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 highest in the first half of 2024 were Jacksonville, Florida (0.25% of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Bakersfield, California (0.25%); Elkhart, Indiana (0.24%); Orlando, Florida (0.24%); and Chicago, Illinois (0.24%).
A total of 130,369 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in the first six months of 2024, down 3.5% from the first half of last year and down 32% from the first half of 2020.
States that saw the greatest number of foreclosure starts in the first half of 2024 included Texas (15,375 foreclosure starts); Florida (15,251 foreclosure starts); California (14,964 foreclosure starts); New York (7,523 foreclosure starts); and Illinois (7,240 foreclosure starts).
Additionally, the average time to foreclose increased for the second quarter in a row. Properties foreclosed in Q2 2024 had been in the foreclosure process an average of 815 days. That figure was up 11% from the previous quarter and down 33% from Q2 2023.
