There were 10,821 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in May, according to ATTOM’s May 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which is down 8 percent from April but up 23 percent from a year ago. Foreclosure starts grew by 36 percent year-over-year, according to the report.
“While the increase in foreclosure activity is significant, it’s important to keep these numbers in perspective,” RealtyTrac Executive Vice President Rick Sharga said in a release. ATTOM is the parent company of RealtyTrac. “Last year’s numbers were extraordinarily low due to the implementation of the foreclosure moratorium and the CARES Act mortgage forbearance program, so the year-over-year numbers look a lot more dramatic than they are. And May foreclosure activity actually declined compared to April.”
States with the highest foreclosure rates in May, according to the report, were Nevada (one in every 5,535 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (one in every 5,854); Illinois (one in every 5,903); Florida (one in every 7,207); and New Jersey (one in every 7,679).
The metro areas with a population of at least 200,000 with the highest foreclosure rates in May were Champaign, Ill., (one in every 2,420 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Peoria, Ill., (one in every 3,030); Cleveland (one in every 3,715); Bakersfield, Calif., (one in every 3,774); and Mobile, Ala., (one in every 4,174).
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 5,909 properties in May, down 7 percent from April and down 36 percent from a year ago. Counter to the national trend, states with at least 100 foreclosure starts that saw the greatest monthly increase in foreclosure starts included Ohio (up 96 percent); Alabama (up 78 percent); Michigan (up 65 percent); Georgia (up 61 percent); and Virginia (up 50 percent).
Lenders repossessed 1,315 properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in May, down 15 percent from April and down 54 percent year-over-year. States with the greatest number of REOs included California (154 REOs); Florida (148); Illinois (144); Texas (83); and Ohio (70).