Foreclosure activity is down nationwide from a year ago, but certain local housing markets tell a different story.
Overall, there were 66,401 properties with foreclosure filings in October, a jump of 21% from the previous month’s all-time low, but still a 4% decrease from the same period last year, according to Attom Data Solutions.
Despite this annual decline, some cities are seeing alarming leaps in foreclosure activity — with filings increasing around 350% in certain local markets.
For example, many Gulf Coast markets are just now seeing an uptick in foreclosures from natural disasters in 2017. Servicers offered forbearances and foreclosure moratoriums in the initial aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and are now starting to resume normal default servicing operations.
“We saw an initial foreclosure moratorium in those markets, to give people relief who had been affected by the hurricanes, but now lenders are playing catch-up and actually filing some of those deferred foreclosures,” said Attom Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist.
“The effects have masked that there are more widespread increases in foreclosure activity,” he added.
Here’s a look at 12 housing markets where foreclosure filings are surging. The October foreclosure data, from Attom, is ranked by the largest annual gains in foreclosure filings for Metropolitan Statistical Areas with at least 100,000 housing units. The filing totals include preforeclosure notices; public foreclosure auctions; and completed foreclosure actions.
12 Fayetteville, Ark.Total foreclosure filings: 44 (+83.33%) Number of housing units: 205,416 One foreclosure filing for every 4,669 housing units |
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11 Orlando, Fla.Total foreclosure filings: 671 (+83.84%) Number of housing units: 976,455 One foreclosure filing for every 1,455 housing units |
10 Lafayette, La.Total foreclosure filings: 91 (+85.71%) Number of housing units: 202,196 One foreclosure filing for every 2,222 housing units |
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9 Naples, Fla.Total foreclosure filings: 93 (+86%) Number of housing units: 203,899 One foreclosure filing for every 2,192 housing units |
8 Visalia, Calif.Total foreclosure filings: 162 (+116%) Number of housing units: 145,661 One foreclosure filing for every 899 housing units |
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7 Lake Havasu City, Ariz.Total foreclosure filings: 139 (+157.41%) Number of housing units: 112,617 One foreclosure filing for every 810 housing units |
6 Ocala, Fla.Total foreclosure filings: 171 (+167.19%) Number of housing units: 163,786 One foreclosure filing for every 958 housing units |
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5 Corpus Christi, TexasTotal foreclosure filings: 94 (+184.85%) Number of housing units: 188,648 One foreclosure filing for every 2,007 housing units |
4 Houston, TexasTotal foreclosure filings: 1226 (+197.57%) Number of housing units: 2,448,566 One foreclosure filing for every 1,997 housing units |
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3 Anchorage, AlaskaTotal foreclosure filings: 123 (+200%) Number of housing units: 155,860 One foreclosure filing for every 1,267 housing units |
2 Savannah, Ga.Total foreclosure filings: 62 (+342.86%) Number of housing units: 156,428 One foreclosure filing for every 2,523 housing units |
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1 Beaumont, TexasTotal foreclosure filings: 86 (+352.63%) Number of housing units: 174,351 One foreclosure filing for every 2,027 housing units |
Source Article: By Elina Tarkazikis of National Mortgage News
Elina Tarkazikis is a reporter for National Mortgage News and not affiliated with Consumer Law Attorneys.
