by ATTOM Staff
Zombie Foreclosures Increase as Lenders Pursue More Delinquent Mortgages
ATTOM’s Q4 2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report reveals that 1.3 million residential properties in the U.S. sit vacant, representing 1.27 percent of homes. This is virtually unchanged from the previous quarter.
In Q4 2023, 320,765 residential properties are in foreclosure, marking a 1.7 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 12.8 percent increase from the same period in 2022. This rise is attributed to the lifting of the nationwide moratorium on foreclosure proceedings that was implemented during the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Among these properties, approximately 8,900 are considered “zombie foreclosures,” indicating that they have been abandoned by their owners. This represents a 1.4 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 15.3 percent increase from a year ago. However, these zombie properties account for only a small fraction of the total housing stock in the U.S., approximately one in every 11,412 homes.
The stability in the number of zombie properties is reflective of the rebound in the U.S. housing market from the previous year’s setback. Median home values grew by 11 percent during the Spring-Summer buying season, reaching a record of $350,000.
While zombie foreclosures have increased in some states, they remain largely absent in most areas. The largest quarterly increases in states with at least 50 zombie properties occurred in Kentucky, Connecticut, Maryland, Texas, and California. Conversely, New Mexico, New Jersey, Maine, Nevada, and Georgia saw the largest decreases.
New York has the highest ratio of zombie homes to all residential properties, followed by Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana.
The overall vacancy rate for residential properties in the U.S. has remained stable at 1.27 percent. States with the highest vacancy rates include Oklahoma, Kansas, Michigan, Alabama, and Indiana, while states with the lowest vacancy rates are New Hampshire, New Jersey, Vermont, Idaho, and North Dakota.
Additional findings from Q4 2023 include high zombie foreclosure rates in specific metropolitan areas, vacant investor-owned homes in certain states, vacancy rates among foreclosed, bank-owned homes, and high zombie-foreclosure rates in select U.S. counties and zip codes.
To learn more and access more detailed data or get the data behind the stories, contact one of ATTOM’s data experts.