Foreclosure Activity Rose In January For 21st Straight Month! Is The US Heading Into Another Housing Nightmare?

Foreclosure activity rose in January and it’s not a good sign. This is also the 21st month foreclosure activity has been on the rise. ATTOM is reporting the number of foreclosure filings increased 2% in January from December.

The company just released its January 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The report showed there were 31,557 foreclosure filings and default notices filed. As well as scheduled auctions or bank repossessions. This is up 36% from January 2022.

Overall foreclosure filings nationwide points toward a disturbing trend that increased activity is on the horizon.

Foreclosure activity has also risen year over year. However, foreclosure completions fell from last year.

Lenders repossessed 3,896 properties in January 2023. This is up 6% from December but down 19% from last year. The first annual decrease in completed foreclosures since June 2021.

States that saw the greatest annual decreases in January 2023 included Florida (-53%) and Maryland (-23%). In third place was Michigan (-22%) with New Jersey coming in fourth (-15%). Texas rounded out the top five (-14%).

However, just three states in January 2023 saw an annual increase. They include New York (+76%), Pennsylvania (+12%), and California (+4%).

Foreclosure Activity Rose The Highest In These States

One in every 4,425 house in the United States had a foreclosure filing in January.

Five states had the highest foreclosure rates. In first place was Delaware with one in every 2,109 housing units. Illinois came in second with one in every 2,279 units. Third was Michigan with one in every 2,617 units. New Jersey was fourth with one in every 2,858 units. Maryland rounded out the top five with one in every 2,967 units).

Other than Cleveland and Detroit, these major metropolitan areas had the worst foreclosure rates in January 2023. Chicago had one in every 2,074 units and Riverside, California had one in every 2,123 units. Las Vegas topped out the top five with one in every 2,341 units.

Lenders also started the foreclosure process on 20,752 U.S. properties in January 2023. This is down 1% from last month. It is up 75% from a year ago.

The states with the greatest number of foreclosures starts in January included California with 2,513 and Texas 2,136. Florida had 1,725 foreclosure starts and New York had 1,375.  Illinois (1,309).

Read More About Foreclosure Activity Below:

US Foreclosure Activity Doubles Annually