Forty-seven percent of metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) across the country had first quarter foreclosure activity below pre-recession levels, according to a report by ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM’s “2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report” found first quarter foreclosure filings, default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions decreased in 102 out of 216 MSAs.
Nationwide, foreclosure activities were reported on 234,508 properties in the first quarter, down 11 percent from the previous quarter and a 19 percent decline from a year ago, ATTOM said. Foreclosure activity during the first quarter of 2017 reached its lowest level since the third quarter of 2006.
“U.S. foreclosure activity on a quarterly basis first dipped below pre-recession averages in the fourth quarter of last year, and this report shows that trend continuing for the second consecutive quarter,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a press release. “The number of local markets dropping below pre-recession levels continues to grow.”
Markets with foreclosure activities below pre-recession levels included Los Angeles (46 percent below); Dallas (73 percent below); Houston (52 percent below); Miami (44 percent below); and Atlanta (67 percent below).
San Francisco, Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., Phoenix, Detroit and Seattle also had foreclosure activities below pre-recession levels during the first quarter of 2017.
“The markets HER Realtors serves are 28 to 45 percent below pre-recession levels,” HER Realtors Senior Regional Vice President Matthew Watercutter said. “The reduced number of foreclosure properties is consistent with lower unemployment rates, and is contributing to the lack of inventory available to consumers.”
“That low inventory, coupled with increased demand, is causing an increase in housing costs, a reduction in days on market and causing frustration among homebuyers wanting to purchase,” Watercutter added.
Some of the markets where foreclosure activities remained below pre-recession levels during the first quarter of 2017 were New York (80 percent above); Chicago (9 percent above); Philadelphia (97 percent above); Washington, D.C. (64 percent above); and Boston (26 percent above).
And although foreclosure activity is below pre-recession levels in many markets, in March foreclosures climbed for the second consecutive month. A total of 83,145 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings in March 2017, up 1 percent from the previous month but down 24 percent from a year ago.
The highest foreclosure rates in March were in New Jersey, Maryland, Nevada, Delaware and Illinois. Cities with the highest foreclosure rates in March were Trenton, N.J., Atlantic City and Philadelphia.