Foreclosure activity drops below pre-recession levels in 47%

[Dustin Ruhl]

Foreclosure activities in the United States have continued to fall in the first quarter of 2017 to a level not seen since before the recession, and this trend has been happening for the last seventeen months. Although March 2017 showed a one percent increase in foreclosures from the previous month, this number appears to be an outlier and does not stop the overall trend of a decrease in the number of foreclosures when looked at annually. Oddly enough more people are starting the foreclosure process than previously was recorded at a rate of six percent, but this is still an incredible jump down from where this number was just a year ago, at twenty four percent. In order to be included in this study, the homes had to be in a metropolitan area with a population of more than two hundred thousand. The areas with the highest rates of foreclosure are centered around the American northeast. The cities with the highest percentages of foreclosure include Trenton, New Jersey, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This article demonstrates that the rate at which homes are being foreclosed on is steadily decreasing ever since the recession hit its peak and fewer families are having to face this type of housing crisis.

Key Takeaways:

• Foreclosure starts have increased for the second consecutive month, though are still below prior year numbers
• New Jersey and Illinois each have multiple metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates
• Several metro areas still have foreclosure rates above pre-recession levels.

"As these 47% of metros fell below pre-crisis levels, foreclosure filings including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions were reported on 234,508 properties in the first quarter. This is down 19% from last year, and down 11% from the fourth quarter 2016 to the lowest level since the third quarter 2006."

Read more: http://www.housingwire.com/articles/39839-foreclosure-activity-drops-below-pre-recession-levels-in-47-of-us