U.S. Foreclosure Activity Declines in First Half of 2024, While Time to Complete Foreclosures Increases
ATTOM’s Midyear 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report reveals a decline in foreclosure activity across the United States. According to the report, 177,431 properties across the country had foreclosure filings—ranging from default notices to scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—during the first six months of 2024. This figure marks a 4.4% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. However, the total is still 7.8% higher than two years ago, reflecting a nuanced trend in foreclosure activity.
ATTOM found that foreclosure rates were highest in New Jersey, Illinois, and Florida. In these states, around 0.20% to 0.21% of housing units faced foreclosure in the first six months of 2024. The metro areas leading in foreclosure activity included Lakeland, Florida, where 0.32% of homes had foreclosure filings, followed by Columbia, South Carolina, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, with foreclosure rates of 0.31% and 0.28%, respectively. Other cities like Cleveland, Ohio, and Spartanburg, South Carolina, also experienced high rates of foreclosure.
While foreclosure activity saw a year-over-year decline, some states experienced sharp increases in foreclosure rates. South Dakota, North Dakota, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Idaho reported significant year-over-year increases, with South Dakota witnessing the largest surge at 93%. Despite these pockets of increased activity, the national landscape showed that foreclosure filings were decreasing overall, with 0.13% of all U.S. housing units facing foreclosure.
Additionally, the report highlighted a decline in the number of U.S. properties entering the foreclosure process. In the first half of 2024, 130,369 properties started the foreclosure process, a 3.5% drop from the first half of 2023 and a 32% decline from 2020. Texas, Florida, and California led in foreclosure starts, accounting for the highest numbers nationwide.
Bank repossessions, known as Real Estate Owned (REO) properties, also fell, with lenders foreclosing on 18,726 properties in the first six months of 2024, a 17% decrease from the previous year. States with the most REO activity included California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Despite the decline, REO numbers were still 92% higher than in 2021, indicating some lingering effects from earlier periods of housing instability.
In the second quarter of 2024, overall foreclosure activity continued to show improvement, with 89,466 properties filing for foreclosure, marking a 6% decline from the previous quarter and an 8% drop from the same period in 2023. This activity level remains significantly below pre-recession averages, with national foreclosure figures standing 68% lower than the 2006-2007 quarterly averages before the Great Recession.
A notable trend in the report was the increasing length of time it takes to complete the foreclosure process. Properties foreclosed in the second quarter of 2024 spent an average of 815 days in the process, an 11% increase from the previous quarter. However, this is still 33% shorter than the average time in Q2 of 2023. The longest foreclosure timelines were found in states like Louisiana, where the process averaged 3,686 days, while New Hampshire had the shortest foreclosure timeline at 82 days.
Overall, while foreclosure activity is down from the previous year, key indicators suggest that the market is still adjusting, and the full impact on the housing sector remains to be seen. As the time to foreclose continues to rise and certain states see sharp increases in foreclosure rates, market participants are advised to remain vigilant in tracking these trends.
To learn more and access more detailed data or get the data behind the stories, contact one of ATTOM’s data experts.