U.S. Foreclosure Activity Up 13 percent In January 2020

Foreclosure Starts Decrease Nationally, While REOs Increase From a Year Ago

There were 60,085 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in January 2020, up 13 percent from December 2019 and up 7 percent from a year ago. Nationally, one in every 2,270 U.S. properties received a foreclosure filing during the month of January.

Counter to the national trend, 16 states posted month-over-month decreases in foreclosure activity in January 2020. Including Iowa (down 44 percent); Oregon (down 28 percent); Nevada (down 28 percent); Louisiana (down 24 percent); and Washington (down 20 percent). ATTOM’s Foreclosure Market Trend Reports offer a detailed look at foreclosure data.

Foreclosure starts decrease from last year

Lenders started the foreclosure process for the first time on 26,858 property owners in January 2020, down less than 1 percent from the previous month but down 9 percent from a year ago.

Counter to the national trend, 19 states posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts, including California (up 27 percent); Tennessee (up 21 percent); Georgia (up 14 percent); Illinois (up 9 percent); and Ohio (up 3 percent).

Also, counter to the national trend, 75 of 220 metro areas analyzed posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts, including San Antonio, Texas (up 66 percent); Los Angeles, California (up 63 percent); Riverside, California (up 22 percent); Nashville, Tennessee (up 19 percent); and Chicago, Illinois (up 14 percent).

New Jersey, Delaware and Illinois post worst foreclosure rates

States with the worst foreclosure rates in January 2020 were New Jersey (one in every 1,046 housing units); Delaware (one in every 1,098 housing units); Illinois (one in every 1,139 housing units); Maryland (one in every 1,507 housing units); and Ohio (one in every 1,517 housing units).

Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 200,000 people, those with the worst foreclosure rates in August were Atlantic City, New Jersey (one in every 703 housing units); Rockford, Illinois (one in every 726 housing units); Peoria, Illinois (one in every 952 housing units); Fayetteville, North Carolina (one in every 957 housing units); and Trenton, New Jersey (one in every 984 housing units);

Among 53 metro areas with at least 1 million people, those with the highest foreclosure rates in January were Chicago, Illinois (one in every 1,027 housing units); Cleveland, Ohio (one in every 1,029 housing units); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (one in every 1,072 housing units); Jacksonville, Florida (one in every 1,144 housing units); and Riverside, California (one in every 1,189 housing units).

Bank repossessions see uptick nationwide

Lenders repossessed 20,759 U.S. properties in January 2020 (REO), up 49 percent from the previous month and up 70 percent from a year ago, following the holiday season.

Counter to the national trend, those metropolitan areas with a population greater than 200K that saw a month-over-month decrease included Cleveland, Ohio (down 40 percent); San Antonio, Texas (down 28 percent); Las Vegas, Nevada (down 27 percent); Dallas, Texas (down 26 percent); and Atlanta, Georgia (down 24 percent).