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INVESTMENT PROPERTY PRESERVATION TECH
THE SPREAD
OF ZOMBIE
PROPERTIES
According to a new report, 1.52 million
U.S. single-family homes and condos in the
United States are vacant, representing 1.5% of
all homes. e ATTOM Data Solutions Q1
2020 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure
Report, which analyzes publicly recorded
real estate data collected by ATTOM Data
Solution, reports that about 282,800 homes are
in the process of foreclosure, with about 8,700,
or 3.1% sitting empty as "zombie" foreclosures.
e percentage is up from 3% in the fourth
quarter of 2019, but still significantly less than
5.8% in the first quarter of 2014.
e total number of properties in the
process of foreclosure in the first quarter of
2020 is down 1.9% from the fourth quarter of
2019, while the number of vacant foreclosures
is up 1.7%, meaning that the level of zombie
properties rose while the count of foreclosures
dipped. Since 2016, the number facing possible
foreclosure is down 27%, while the tally of
unoccupied properties in the foreclosure
pipeline has declined 53%.
States that had the greatest zombie
foreclosure rate with 500 or more properties
in the foreclosure process and 100 or more
zombie foreclosures included Ohio (6.8%),
Indiana (5.1%), Illinois (4.7%), Oklahoma
(4.5%), and Maryland (4.3%).
New York continues to have the highest
actual number of zombie properties (2,206),
followed by Florida (1,390), Ohio (977),
Illinois (943), Ohio (823), and Pennsylvania
(317).
"Homes abandoned by owners facing a
possible foreclosure remain little more than
a blip on the radar across the country, as one
of the main scourges of the Great Recession
continues to show little or no signs of re-
emerging," said Todd Teta, Chief Product
Officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. "Even
with the slight increase in these so-called
'zombie foreclosures,' so far this year, there are
still pockets of distress with elevated numbers
of abandoned homes. But in yet another
reflection of how the national housing market
is still booming, you can drive through many
towns and not pass a single such property."
Journal
