The third quarter of this year saw a total of 92,634 properties with foreclosure filings, according to new data from ATTOM. That is a 3% uptick from the previous quarter and a 104% spike from one year earlier.
During September, there were a total of 31,836 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings ”“ defined as including default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions ”“ an 8% drop from August by a 62% leap from September 2021.
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 67,249 properties in the third quarter, up 1% from the second quarter and up 167% from the second quarter of 2021. The third quarter activity nearly reached levels recorded in the pre-pandemic period.
The states that posted the greatest number of foreclosure starts in the third quarter were California (7,368 foreclosure starts). Florida (6,671 foreclosure starts), Texas (6,217 foreclosure starts), Illinois (4,702 foreclosure starts) and New York (3,997 foreclosure starts).
“Foreclosure starts, while rising since the end of the government”™s foreclosure moratorium, still lag behind pre-pandemic levels,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence for ATTOM. “Foreclosure activity is reflecting other aspects of the economy, as unemployment rates continue to be historically low, and mortgage delinquency rates are lower than they were before the COVID-19 outbreak.”
