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HOW IS 'SEASONALITY'
IMPACTING FORECLOSURE
RATES?
ATTOM Data has released the latest
iteration of its Foreclosure Market Report for
July 2022 and found that there were a total of
30,358 properties with some form of foreclosure
filing against it.
Default notices, scheduled auctions, and
bank repossessions are also down 4% month
over month, but it is now up 143% since the
same period last year.
"While it's encouraging to see both
foreclosure starts and completions drop off a
bit in July, it's also worth noting that there may
be some seasonality impacting the numbers,"
said Rick Sharga, EVP of Market Intelligence
at ATTOM. "In eight of the last 10 years, Q3
foreclosure activity has been lower than the
previous quarter, so we might just be seeing a
return to a more normal seasonal pattern of
delinquencies and defaults."
All-in-all, nationwide, one in every 4,628
dwelling units had a foreclosure filing against it.
e highest rates were seen in Delaware (one in
every 2,127 units); Illinois (one in 2,334); New
Jersey (one in 2,564); Nevada (one in 2,609);
and South Carolina (one in 2,976).
However, foreclosure starts increased on a
monthly basis in 21 states. Lenders started the
foreclosure process on 21,428 properties in July,
down 4% from last month but up 226% from
the same period last year.
States that saw a monthly increase in
foreclosure starts include: Michigan (up 42%);
Massachusetts (up 39%); Iowa (up 26%);
Wisconsin (up 25%); and Indiana (up 22%).
"It appears that a few states are still catching
up on processing foreclosures on loans that were
seriously delinquent prior to the pandemic,
which accounts for the year-over-year spike in
foreclosure starts," Sharga added. "But early-
stage delinquencies continue to be lower than
normal, so once these older loans have reentered
the foreclosure process, it will be interesting to
see if foreclosure starts fall off significantly."
Foreclosure completion numbers also
decreased by 5% from a month ago as lenders
repossessed 3,068 properties through completed
foreclosures (REOs) in July 2022, down 5%
from last month but up 27% from last year.
Journal
