Foreclosure Filings Down 20% in First Six Months of 2016

Irvine, CA, July 19, 2016—There were a total of 533,813 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions—in the first six months of 2016, down 20% from the previous six months and down 11% from the first six months of 2015, according to RealtyTrac’s Midyear 2016 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

Counter to the national trend, 19 states posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in the first half of 2016, including Massachusetts (up 46%); Connecticut (up 40%); Virginia (up 18%); Alabama (up 11%); and New York (up 10%).

Among the nation’s 20 most-populated metro areas, five posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity: Boston (up 38%); Philadelphia (up 7%); New York (up 4%); Washington, D.C. (up 3%); and Baltimore (up 1%).

“Although there are some local outliers, the downward foreclosure trend continued in the first half of 2016 in most markets nationwide,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “While U.S. foreclosure activity is still above its pre-recession levels, many of the states hit hardest by the housing crisis have now dropped below pre-recession foreclosure activity levels. With some exceptions, states with foreclosure activity continuing to run above pre-recession levels tend to be those with protracted foreclosure timelines still working through legacy distress from the last housing bust.”