According to ATTOM’s recently released Q1 2023 U.S. home Foreclosure Market Report, there were foreclosure filings on 95,712 U.S. properties during the first quarter of 2023. This is a 6 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 22 percent increase from last year.
The report also shows home foreclosure filings on 36,617 U.S. properties in March 2023. This is up 20% from the previous month and up 10% from a year ago. This is the 23rd month that U.S. foreclosure activity has increased from the previous year.
“Even though government agencies and policymakers are trying to lower the number of foreclosures, the number of foreclosures is on the rise,” said Rob Barber, the CEO of ATTOM. “This is a bad trend that can be caused by several things, like rising unemployment rates, foreclosure filings moving through the system after two years of government help, and other long-term economic problems. But since many homeowners still have a lot of equity in their homes, that may help keep the number of foreclosures from going up.”
Nationwide, more homes are going into foreclosure.
In Q1 2023, the foreclosure process began on 65,346 U.S. homes, up 3% from the previous quarter and up 29% from a year ago.
In Q1 2023, California (6,867 foreclosure starts), Texas (6,764 foreclosure starts), Florida (5,724 foreclosure starts), New York (4,345 foreclosure starts), and Illinois were the states with the most foreclosure starts (4,006 foreclosure starts).
In Q1 2023, New York, New York (4,674 foreclosure starts), Chicago, Illinois (3,549 foreclosure starts), Los Angeles, California (2,210 foreclosure starts), Houston, Texas (2,120 foreclosure starts), and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2,120 foreclosure starts) were the big cities with 200,000 or more people with the most foreclosure starts (1,985 foreclosure starts).
Some of the highest home foreclosure rates in the US
In Q1 2023, one out of every 1,459 homes in the country was in foreclosure. The states with the highest foreclosure rates were Illinois, with one filing for foreclosure for every 762 homes, Delaware, with one for every 812 homes, New Jersey, with one for every 824 homes, Maryland, with one for every 897 homes; and Nevada, with one for every 897 homes (one in every 947 housing units).
The cities with the highest foreclosure rates in Q1 2023 were Fayetteville, North Carolina (one in every 526 homes), Cleveland, Ohio (one in every 582 homes), Atlantic City, New Jersey (one in every 661 homes), Columbia, South Carolina (one in every 671 homes), and Bakersfield, California (one in every 671 homes) (one in 688).
Other major metros with populations of at least 1 million and home foreclosure rates in the top 15 in the country were Cleveland, Ohio, at No. 2, Chicago, Illinois, at No. 6, Las Vegas, Nevada, at No. 10, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at No. 12, and Riverside, California at No. 14.
The number of bank repossessions is up by 8%
In the first quarter of 2023, lenders took back 12,518 U.S. properties through foreclosure (REO). This was up 8% from the previous quarter and up 6% from the same time last year.
In Q1 of 2023, Michigan (1,819 REOs), Illinois (1,039 REOs), California (846 REOs), Pennsylvania (788 REOs), and New York had the most REOs (774 REOs).
The average time to foreclose is 12 percent longer than in the last quarter.
In the first quarter of 2023, properties that went into foreclosure had been in the process for an average of 950 days. This was the highest average number of days since the first quarter of 2018. This is up 12% from the last quarter and 4% from the first quarter of 2022.
Louisiana (2,770 days), Hawaii (2,486 days), New York (1,963 days), Kentucky (1,881 days), and New Jersey (1,881 days) had the longest average time to foreclose on a home in Q1 2023. (1,697 days).
Wyoming (111 days), Minnesota (141 days), Montana (143 days), Texas (146 days), and Arkansas had the shortest average time to foreclose on a home in Q1 2023. (157 days).
High-Level Lessons from March 2023 Foreclosure Activity
In March 2023, one out of every 3,813 homes in the country was in foreclosure.
In March 2022, the states with the highest home foreclosure rates were Illinois (one filing for foreclosure for every 2,050 housing units), Delaware (one filing for every 2,161 housing units), Nevada (one filing for every 2,178 housing units), Indiana (one filing for every 2,223 housing units), and New Jersey (one filing for foreclosure for every 2,223 housing units) (one in every 2,299 housing units).
In March 2023, the process began on 24,234 U.S. homes, up 19% from the month before and up 8% from March 2022.
Read Also: Home prices fall nearly 1% in March
In March 2023, lenders finished the process on 4,791 U.S. homes. This was up 25% from the month before and 9% from March 2022.
Reference: Home Foreclosures Spike 22 Percent Annually in the U.S
