Foreclosure filings declined 21 percent year-over-year during July, but increased 6 percent from the previous month, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions.
During July, there were 51,056 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, ATTOM found, with one in every 2,652 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.
According to the report, New Jersey (one in every 1,173 housing units); Delaware (one in every 1,336); Florida (one in every 1,391); Illinois (one in every 1,484) and Maryland (one in every 1,691) were the states with the worst foreclosure rates.
The metropolitan areas with the worst foreclosure rates during July were
Atlantic City, N.J. (one in every 666 housing units); Deltona-Daytona Beach, Fla. (one in every 929); Jacksonville, Fla. (one in every 958); Rockford, Ill.(one in every 992); and Fayetteville, N.C. (one in every 1,103).
Other metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates were Philadelphia (one in every 1,276 housing units); Orlando, Fla. (one in every 1,307); Chicago (one in every 1,307); and Tampa Bay, Fla. (one in every 1,336).
Lenders started the foreclosure process in July for the first time on 26,055 property owners, up 6 percent from the previous month but down 14 percent from a year ago, the report found.
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts in July, including Washington (up 55 percent); Georgia (up 44 percent); Arizona (up 28 percent); North Carolina (up 7 percent); and Colorado (up 3 percent).
Nearly 100 metropolitan areas posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts in July, including Atlanta (up 48 percent); San Francisco (up 3 percent); Phoenix (up 14 percent); Seattle (up 40 percent); and St. Louis (up 3 percent).