ATTOM Data Solutions, licensor of the nation's most comprehensive foreclosure data released its February 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. There were a total of 11,281 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions — up 16 percent from a month ago and 77 percent from a year ago.
“Extensions to the Federal Government’s foreclosure moratorium and CARES Act mortgage forbearance program continue to keep foreclosure activity historically low,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of RealtyTrac, an ATTOM Data Solutions company.
The main reasons for this massive drop in foreclosure activity are the moratorium and “CARES Act” mortgage forbearance program, which have effectively prevented millions of seriously delinquent loans from entering the foreclosure process.
Nationwide 1 in every 12,182 housing units had a foreclosure filing in February 2021.
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 5,999 U.S. properties in February 2021, up 15 percent from last month and down 78 percent from a year ago.
Out of those only 1,545 U.S. properties were repossessed through completed foreclosures (REOs) in February 2021, up 8 percent from last month and down 85 percent from last year.
It is the 13th consecutive annual decline in completed foreclosures.
The following states saw a decline in “completed foreclosures” from last month:
Indiana: -75% in REOs
Colorado: -75% in REOs
South Dakota: -67% in REOs
Utah: -67% in REOs
Alabama: -56% in REOs
States with the highest foreclosure rates in February 2021:
Utah (one in every 3,883 housing units with a foreclosure filing)
Delaware (one in every 5,219 housing units)
Florida (one in every 6,232 housing units)
Illinois (one in every 6,336 housing units)
Louisiana (one in every 7,923 housing units)
Among the 220 metropolitan statistical areas those having the worst foreclosure rates in February 2021:
Cleveland, OH (one in every 3,943 housing units)
Jacksonville, FL (one in every 5,707 housing units)
Riverside, CA (one in every 6,478 housing units)
Birmingham, AL (one in every 6,532 housing units)
St. Louis, MO (one in every 6,651 housing units)
Provo, UT (one in every 787 housing units)
Shreveport, LA (one in every 1,951 housing units)
Lake Havasu, AZ (one in every 2,247 housing units)
Cleveland, OH (one in every 3,943 housing units)
Florence, SC (one in every 3,980 housing units)
Mortgage delinquencies improved in January 2021 but still, 2.1 million homeowners remain delinquent, according to the latest data released by Black Knight.
The national mortgage delinquency rate fell to 5.9% in January, dropping below 6% for the first time since March 2020.
January’s improvement among overall delinquencies as well as seriously past-due mortgages was nearly identical to the average improvement seen during the recovery to date.
While delinquencies continue to improve slowly and steadily, some 2.1 million homeowners remain 90 or more days past due but not yet in foreclosure – still five times pre-pandemic levels
Recent forbearance and foreclosure moratorium extensions have reduced near-term risk, but at the same time may have the effect of extending the length of the recovery period
At the current rate of improvement, 1.8 million mortgages will still be seriously delinquent at the end of June when foreclosure moratoriums on government-backed loans are currently slated to lift
With widespread moratoriums still in place, both foreclosure starts and sales (completions) remained near record lows in January Prepayment activity fell by 17% month-over-month in January but remains 86% above last year’s levels
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