Thousands of Americans stood to lose their homes to their banks or mortgage lenders in the first six months of the year as foreclosure filings hung over more than 170,000 U.S. properties, according to a recent study.
The research from ATTOM Data Solutions found that between January and June, 177,431 homes in the United States had foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions. That was down 4.4 percent from the same time period in 2023 but up 7.8 percent from the same time period two years ago.
Despite a significant drop in foreclosure activity compared to a disastrous 2023, the number of properties with foreclosure filings remained higher than it had been since the pandemic, with the exception of last year.
The states that saw the most foreclosures in the first quarter of the year were New Jersey and Illinois, both with 0.21 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing. Florida followed suit with 0.20 percent, while Nevada, South Carolina, Maryland and Connecticut all counted 0.19 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing in their markets.
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Foreclosures were looming over 0.18 percent of housing units in Delaware and Ohio and 0.16 percent in Indiana.
South Dakota saw the greatest increase in foreclosure activity compared to a year earlier in the entire country, up 93 percent. It was followed by North Dakota (up 86 percent), Kentucky (up 73 percent), Massachusetts (up 46 percent), and Idaho (up 30 percent).
Since the beginning of the year, 130,369 homes in the country have started the foreclosure process, down 3.5 percent from the first half of last year and down 32 percent from the first half of 2020, at the very start of the pandemic.
The states with the greatest number of foreclosure starts since January are Texas (15,375), Florida (15,251), California (14,964), New York (7,523), and Illinois (7,240).
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"In contrast to the first half of 2023, foreclosure activity across the United States experienced a decline in the first half of 2024," ATTOM's CEO Rob Barber said.
"In addition, U.S. foreclosure starts also decreased by 3 percent in the first six months of 2024," he added.
"These shifts could suggest a potential stabilization in the housing market; however, monitoring these evolving patterns remains crucial to understanding the full impact on the real estate sector," Barber said.
Are you a U.S. homeowner facing foreclosure? Tell us about your experience by contacting g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
