According to HousingWire reporting on ATTOM's latest data, foreclosure activity picked up steam in July compared to the same month last year. The report shows roughly forty thousand properties received foreclosure filings that month, marking a ten percent increase from July of the previous year. While that sounds concerning on the surface, the overall trend remains modest when you consider how things looked before the pandemic hit.
The data breaks down into a few categories that paint the full picture. Lenders initiated new foreclosure proceedings on about twenty-six thousand properties, which was up from a year earlier. At the same time, completed foreclosures where banks actually took back properties totaled just under five thousand units, and that number jumped significantly compared to the prior year, up nearly a quarter.
Geographically, the foreclosure pressure is concentrated in certain pockets. Nevada, South Carolina, and Florida are seeing the highest foreclosure rates relative to their housing stock. When you look at metro areas specifically, Florida cities dominate the list, with Punta Gorda leading the way. Closer to home, Vallejo made the top five among major metros, which is worth noting for those of us in the Bay Area.
Texas and California are processing the most foreclosures in raw numbers. Texas leads in both new foreclosure starts and completed repossessions, while California comes in second on both counts. Within California, the Houston and Dallas metros in Texas are seeing considerable activity, which suggests regional economic pressures are playing out in those markets.
What I am seeing locally here in the Bay Area and East Bay is that while Vallejo's appearance on the national foreclosure list reminds us that pockets of stress do exist, our market overall hasn't experienced the wave of distressed sales that some other regions are facing. The broader message from this data is that homeowners in scattered markets are genuinely struggling, but the housing market as a whole remains relatively stable compared to where we've been historically.
