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data from the Auction.com platform. Although
still well below pre-pandemic levels, the seven-
month high in October corresponded with a
sharp drop in active forbearances in the first
week of October as many reached the end
of the first six-month forbearance window
allowed by the CARES Act. Black Knight
data shows the number of mortgages in active
forbearance dropped a whopping 649,000 in
the week ending October 6.
Similarly, Auction.com data shows
completed foreclosure auctions increased to a
10-month high in January, corresponding to
another sharp decline in active forbearances
at the beginning of the month—dropping
95,000 in the week ending January 6,
according to Black Knight. Again, despite the
monthly increase in January, foreclosure levels
remained well below year-ago levels given that
foreclosures were limited to almost exclusively
vacant or abandoned properties.
e foreclosure of vacant or abandoned
properties contributes to the health of the
local housing market without bringing harm
to individual homeowners, according to
neighborhood stabilization advocates like Julia
Gordon, President of the National Community
Stabilization Trust (NCST).
"When a property has become vacant
for some reason but does not go through
Neither the
distressed
homeowner
nor the
foreclosing
lender
perceives that
the property
has any
equity, but a
free and open
marketplace
of more than
6 million
buyers proves
otherwise.
Feature By: Daren Blomquist
Vacant Property Foreclosures Return as Forbearance Exits Accelerate
COMPLETED FORECLOSURES MORTGAGES IN ACTIVE FORBEARANCE
Sources: Auction.com, Black Knight
June 2020 July 2020 Aug 2020 Sept 2020 Oct 2020 Nov 2020 Dec 2020 Jan 2021
Zombie Foreclosure Rate Leveling Off
Q3 2017 Q3 2018 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021
4.2% 3.4% 3.2% 3.0% 3.1% 3.0% 3.7% 3.8% 3.8%
Vacant Share of Properties in the Foreclosure Process
Sources: ATTOM Data Solutions
