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April 2024 » thefivestar.com 61 April 2024 J O U R N A L their properties," Dr. Hepp added. "Now, slightly more than one million borrow- ers are underwater, the lowest number recorded in CoreLogic historic data and significantly below the 12 million seen coming out of the Great Recession." Because home equity is impacted by home price changes, borrowers with equity positions near (+/- 5%), the nega- tive equity cutoff, are most likely to move out of or into negative equity as prices change, respectively. Looking at the Q4 2023 book of mortgages, if home prices increase by 5%, 114,000 homes would re- gain equity; if home prices decline by 5%, 162,000 properties would fall underwater. DOES ANNUAL UPTICK IN FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY HINT AT 'SHIFTING' MARKET DYNAMICS? A ccording to ATTOM Data's lat- est Foreclosure Market Report covering the month of February 2024, there were a total of 32,938 proper- ties with foreclosure filings against them, down 1% from January, but this number is up 8% year over year. "The annual uptick in U.S. foreclo- sure activity hints at shifting dynamics within the housing market," said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. "These trends could signify evolving financial land- scapes for homeowners, prompting adjustments in market strategies and lending practices. We continue to closely monitor these trends to comprehend their complete effect on foreclosure activity." Foreclosure Completion Numbers Decrease Annually in 28 States Through the REO process, lenders repossessed 3,397 properties during the month, down both on a monthly (14%) and yearly basis (11%). States that had at least 50 or more REOs and that saw the greatest annual de- crease in February 2024 included: Georgia (down 52%); New York (down 41%); North Carolina (down 34%); New Jersey (down 28%); and Maryland (down 26%). Counter to the national trend, those states with at least 50 or more REOs that saw the greatest annual increase in February 2024 included: South Carolina (up 51%); Missouri (up 50%); Pennsylva- nia (up 46%); Texas (up 7%); and Indiana (up 0.8%). Highest Foreclosure Rates in South Carolina, Delaware, and Florida Nationwide, one in every 4,279 housing units had a foreclosure filing in February 2024. States with the highest foreclosure rates were South Carolina (one in every 2,248 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (one in 2,428); Florida (one in 2,632); Ohio (one in 2,828); and Connecticut (one in 2,884). Foreclosure Starts Increased Monthly and Annually Lenders started the foreclosure pro- cess on 22,575 U.S. properties in February 2024, up 4% from last month and up 11% from a year ago. Those states that saw the greatest number of foreclosures starts in February 2024 included: Florida (2,732 foreclosure starts); California (2,730); Texas (2,694); New York (1,289); and Ohio (1,097). "These trends could signify evolving financial landscapes for homeowners, prompting adjustments in market strategies and lending practices. We continue to closely monitor these trends to comprehend their complete effect on foreclosure activity." —Rob Barber, CEO, ATTOM