ATTOM Data Solutions released a report this week revealing that third-quarter foreclosure activity is down 13 percent from the previous quarter and 35 percent from a year ago.
The Q3 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report showed a total of 191,824 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, such as default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions. This determined foreclosure activity in Q3 2017 was 31 percent below the pre-recession average of 278,912 properties with foreclosure filings per quarter between Q1 2006 and Q3 2007. The results of the study represented the fourth consecutive quarter where U.S. foreclosure activity has tracked below the pre-recession average.
“Legacy foreclosures from the high-risk loans originated between 2004 and 2008 have largely been cleared out of the distressed market pipeline,” Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions, said. “Meanwhile, loans originated during the housing boom of the last five years are posting foreclosure rates below historic averages, with the notable exception of FHA loans originated in 2014, which have the highest foreclosure rate of any FHA loan vintage since 2009 — 29 percent above the historic average for FHA loans although still 55 percent below the peak in 2007.”
Counter to the national trend, 51 metro areas posted a year-over-year increase in foreclosure starts in Q3 2017, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; and Columbus, Ohio.
Third quarter foreclosure activity was below pre-recession averages in 123 of the 217 metro areas analyzed in the report, officials said, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Miami.