Foreclosure Rates Edge Up In August 2023

New data from ATTOM says foreclosures are on the rise. The report indicates a total of 33,952 U.S. properties faced foreclosure filings. This figure marks a 7% increase from July 2023, though it's 2% less than August 2022.

Nationwide, the statistics point to one in every 4,113 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August 2023. Nevada led the pack with one foreclosure filing for every 2,224 housing units, followed closely by Illinois and South Carolina. New Jersey and Delaware were also high on the list.

In terms of metropolitan areas with populations exceeding 200,000, Columbia, S.C., faced the highest foreclosure rates. Fayetteville, N.C., Peoria, Illinois, Las Vegas, and Jacksonville, N.C., also grappled with elevated rates.

For metropolitan regions with populations over 1 million, Las Vegas was accompanied by Cleveland, Ohio, Riverside, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., and Chicago as the cities hardest hit by foreclosure rates.

However, it's not all doom and gloom. The commencement of the foreclosure process on U.S. properties showed an increase of 9% from July to August 2023, tallying 22,899. Still, this was a decrease of 4% from the previous year. Louisiana, California, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida observed the most significant monthly spikes in foreclosure starts.

In a concerning trend for major metro areas with populations above 1 million, Austin, Texas, Nashville, Tenn., and Raleigh, N.C., saw the most considerable monthly upsurges in foreclosure initiations.

On the brighter side, completed foreclosures, often known as REOs (Real Estate Owned), increased slightly by 1% from July, which was 15% lower than in August 2022. States like Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and Texas had the highest counts of REOs. In major metropolitan areas, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Detroit had the largest number of completed foreclosures.