U.S. Foreclosure Filings Down 15 Percent Since Last Year

362,275 U.S. Foreclosure Filings Reported in First Half of 2018

According to ATTOM Data Solutions newly released its Midyear 2018 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, a total of 362,275 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings -- default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions -- in the first six months of 2018, down 15 percent from the same period a year ago and down 78 percent from a peak of 1,654,634 in the first six months of 2010.

Counter to the national trend, 26 of the 219 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report (12 percent) posted a year-over-year increase in foreclosure activity in the first six months of 2018, including Houston, Texas (up 10 percent); Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (up 11 percent); Cleveland, Ohio (up 4 percent); Phoenix, Arizona (up 5 percent); and Indianapolis (up 2 percent).

"Localized foreclosure flare-ups in the first half of 2018 can no longer be blamed on legacy distress left over from the last housing bubble given that nearly half of all active foreclosures are now tied to loans originated in 2009 or later and given that the average time to foreclose plummeted in the first two quarters of the year," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. "Instead these local foreclosure increases are typically the result of more recent distress triggers in those markets.

"We're also seeing early evidence of gradually loosening lending standards starting in 2014, specifically for FHA-backed loans," Blomquist added. "The foreclosure rate on FHA loans originated in 2014 and 2015 has now jumped above the average FHA foreclosure rate for all loan vintages -- the only two post-recession vintages with foreclosure rates above that overall average."

New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland post highest state foreclosure rates

Nationwide 0.27 percent of all housing units (one in every 370) had a foreclosure filing in the first six months of 2018.

States with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of 2018 were New Jersey (0.80 percent); Delaware (0.57 percent); Maryland (0.50 percent); Illinois (0.44 percent); and Connecticut (0.40 percent).

Other states with first-half 2018 foreclosure rates among the 10 highest nationwide were South Carolina (0.39 percent); Ohio (0.37 percent); Nevada (0.37 percent); Florida (0.37 percent); and New Mexico (0.35 percent).

Atlantic City, Trenton, Flint, with highest metro foreclosure rates

Among 219 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report, those with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of 2018 were Atlantic City, New Jersey (1.48 percent of all housing units with a foreclosure filing); Trenton, New Jersey (0.96 percent); Flint, Michigan (0.95 percent); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (0.64 percent); and Columbia, South Carolina (0.58 percent).

Other metro areas with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 highest in the first half of 2018 were Cleveland, Ohio (0.58 percent); Albuquerque, New Mexico (0.55 percent); Rockford, Illinois (0.53 percent); Peoria, Illinois (0.52 percent); and Baltimore, Maryland (0.52 percent).

First-half foreclosure starts down nationwide, up in 40 percent of local markets

A total of 191,914 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in the first six months of 2018, down 8 percent from the first half of 2017 and down 82 percent from a peak of 1,074,471 in the first half of 2009.

Counter to the national trend, 22 states posted a year-over-year increase in foreclosure starts in the first half of 2018, including Texas (up 11 percent); Michigan (up 5 percent); Arizona (up 1 percent); Indiana (up 51 percent); and Tennessee (up 13 percent).

Also counter to the national trend, 88 of the 219 metro areas analyzed in the report (40 percent) posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts in the first half of 2018, including Houston, Texas (up 25 percent); Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (up 17 percent); Las Vegas, Nevada (up 7 percent); Detroit, Michigan (up 23 percent); and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota (up 50 percent).

First-half bank repossessions down in all but one state

A total of 133,290 U.S. properties were repossessed by lenders through foreclosure (REO) in the first half of 2018, down 21 percent from the first half of 2017 and down 75 percent from a peak of 529,633 in the first half of 2010.

All but one state (New Mexico) posted a year-over-year decrease in REOs in the first half of 2018.

Q2 2018 foreclosure activity below pre-recession levels in 55 percent of markets

A total of 188,843 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in Q2 2018, down 1 percent from the previous quarter and down 14 percent from a year ago. The second quarter of 2018 was the seventh consecutive quarter in which U.S. foreclosure activity was below the pre-recession average of 278,912 properties with foreclosure filings per quarter in 2006 and 2007.

Foreclosure activity in the second quarter of 2018 was below pre-recession averages in 121 of the 219 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report (55 percent), including Los Angeles, California (56 percent below); Chicago, Illinois (25 percent below); Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (75 percent below); Houston, Texas (37 percent below); and Miami, Florida (55 percent below).

Counter to the national trend, 98 of the 219 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report (45 percent) posted Q2 2018 foreclosure activity totals above their pre-recession averages, including New York-Newark-Jersey City (50 percent above); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (42 percent above); Washington, D.C. (51 percent above); Boston, Massachusetts (19 percent above); and Baltimore, Maryland (235 percent above);

Average foreclosure timeline decreases for second straight quarter

Properties foreclosed in the second quarter of 2018 took an average of 720 days from the first public foreclosure notice to complete the foreclosure process, down from 791 days in the previous quarter and down from 883 days in the second quarter of 2017 -- the second consecutive quarter with a year-over-year decrease and the shortest average foreclosure timeline since Q3 2016.

States with the longest average foreclosure timelines for foreclosures completed in Q2 2018 were Hawaii (1,553 days), Florida (1,166 days), New Jersey (1,161 days), Utah (1,108 days), and Indiana (1,054 days).

States with the shortest average foreclosure timelines for foreclosures completed in Q2 2018 were Arkansas (152 days), Virginia (169 days), New Hampshire (177 days), Mississippi (188 days), and Minnesota (222 days).