Foreclosure Activity Nationwide Shows Slight Decline In April
Foreclosure starts decreased 7% from last month and completed foreclosures increased 8% from last month
- One in every 4,453 housing units nationwide had a foreclosure filing in April 2024.
- Maryland was the state with the highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 2,214 housing units with a foreclosure filing.
ATTOM's April 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows there were a total of 31,649 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — down 4% from a month ago and down 4% from a year ago.
“April’s foreclosure numbers highlight a mixed landscape in the U.S. housing market,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “While there is a general downtrend in foreclosure starts and filings, we have also seen an increase in completed foreclosures. This mixed activity underscores the importance of closely monitoring these developments to understand the ongoing dynamics in the real estate market.”
Nationwide, one in every 4,453 housing units had a foreclosure filing in April 2024. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Maryland (one in every 2,214 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Illinois (one in every 2,517 housing units); Nevada (one in every 2,546 housing units); South Carolina (one in every 2,573 housing units); and Florida (one in every 2,854 housing units).
Among the 224 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in April 2024 were Elkhart, Ind. (one in every 1,565 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Columbia, S.C. (one in every 1,689 housing units); Cleveland, Ohio (one in every 1,859 housing units); Lakeland, Fla. (one in every 1,861 housing units); and Flint, Mich. (one in every 1,998 housing units).
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 21,753 U.S. properties in April 2024, down 7% from last month and down 3% year over year.
States that had at least 100 foreclosure starts in April 2024 and saw the greatest monthly decline included: New Jersey (down 51%); Indiana (down 32%); Colorado (down 31%); Massachusetts (down 21%); and Connecticut (down 20%).
The top three states that had at least 100 foreclosure starts in April 2024 and saw the greatest monthly increase included: Maryland (up 85%); Oregon (up 80%); and Oklahoma (up 65%).
Lenders repossessed 2,904 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in April 2024, up 8% from last month but down less than 1% from last year.
Those states that had the greatest number of REOs in April 2024 included: Illinois (244 REOs); Pennsylvania (241 REOs); California (233 REOs); New York (225 REOs); and Maryland (200 REOs).