November 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Activity Declines Slightly From Last Month But Still On The Rise From A Year Ago

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, licensor of the nation's most comprehensive foreclosure data and parent company to RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com), the largest online marketplace for foreclosure and distressed properties, released its November 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 19,479 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — down 5 percent from a month ago but up 94 percent from a year ago. The 7^th consecutive month of annual increases.

"After an initial surge following the end of the government's moratorium, it appears that foreclosure activity may be slowing down as we move towards the end of the year," said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company. "Despite concerns about a pandemic-driven wave of defaults, mortgage delinquency rates and foreclosure starts have continued to decline due to government and industry programs, and a recovering U.S. economy."

Illinois, Florida and Ohio had the highest foreclosure rates
Nationwide one in every 7,055 housing units had a foreclosure filing in November 2021. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Illinois (one in every 3,187 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Florida (one in every 3,319 housing units); Ohio (one in every 3,669 housing units); Delaware (one in every 3,800 housing units); and New Jersey (one in every 4,096 housing units).

Among the 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in November 2021 were Cleveland, OH (one in every 1,746 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Lakeland, FL (one in every 2,345 housing units); Ocala, FL (one in every 2,485 housing units); Savannah, GA (one in every 2,618 housing units); and Miami, FL (one in every 2,626 housing units).

Those metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million, with the worst foreclosure rates in November 2021, including: Cleveland, OH and Miami, FL were: Chicago, IL (one in every 2,644 housing units); Jacksonville, FL (one in every 2,733 housing units); and Orlando, FL (one in every 3,536 housing units).

Foreclosure starts decrease 3 percent from last month
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 10,471 U.S. properties in November 2021, down 3 percent from last month but up 99 percent from a year ago.

"The fact that foreclosure starts declined despite hundreds of thousands of borrowers exiting the CARES Act mortgage forbearance program over the last few months is very encouraging," Sharga noted. "It suggests that the 'forbearance equals foreclosure' narrative was incorrect, and that the efforts of the government and the mortgage servicing industry have prevented potentially millions of unnecessary foreclosures from happening due to COVID-19."

States that had at least 100 foreclosure starts in November 2021 and saw the greatest monthly decreases in foreclosure starts included: North Carolina (down 46 percent); New Jersey (down 31 percent); Washington (down 28 percent); Tennessee (down 28 percent); and Nevada (down 22 percent).

Those major metropolitan areas with a population greater than 200,000 that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts in November 21 included: New York, NY (664 foreclosure starts percent); Miami, FL (494 foreclosure starts); Los Angeles, CA (441 foreclosure starts); Houston, TX (384 foreclosure starts); and Chicago, IL (335 foreclosure starts).

Foreclosure completion numbers decrease 24 percent from last month
Lenders repossessed 2,292 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in November 2021, down 24 percent from last month, the first monthly decrease since May 2021 but up 14 percent from last year.

States that had the greatest number of REOs in November 2021, included: Illinois (248 REOs); California (178 REOs); Florida (167 REOs); Pennsylvania (132 REOs); and Michigan (130 REOs).

Those major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population greater than 200,000 that saw the greatest number of REOs in November 2021 included: Chicago, IL (158 REOs); New York, NY (68 REOs); Detroit, MI (54 REOs); Philadelphia, PA (51 REOs); and Baltimore, MD (50 REOs).

Report Methodology
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 foreclosure 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 percent of the U.S. population. ATTOM's report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the annual, midyear and quarterly reports, if more than one type of foreclosure document is received for a property during the timeframe, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. The annual, midyear, quarterly and monthly reports all check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report does not count the property in the current year, quarter or month.

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About ATTOM
ATTOM provides foreclosure data licenses that can power various enterprise industries including real estate, insurance, marketing, government, mortgage and more. ATTOM multi-sources from 3,000 counties property tax, deed, mortgage, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation's population.  

About RealtyTrac (Powered by ATTOM's Property Data) 
RealtyTrac.com is the largest online marketplace for foreclosure and distressed properties, helping individual investors and real estate agents looking to gain a competitive edge in the distressed market. Realtytrac.com enables real estate professionals the ability to find, analyze and invest in residential properties.

Media Contact:
Christine Stricker
949.748.8428
[email protected]

Data and Report Licensing:
949.502.8313
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SOURCE ATTOM