Foreclosure filings, default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions during April reached their lowest level in nearly 12 years, according to ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM reported 77,049 foreclosure-related actions on U.S. properties in April, down 7 percent compared with March, and down 23 percent from a year ago. April’s foreclosure-related activities were at the lowest level since November 2005.
“Foreclosure activity continued to search for a new post-recession floor in April thanks in large part to the above-par performance of mortgages originated in the past seven years,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a release.
“Meanwhile we are seeing an elevated share of repeat foreclosures on homeowners who often fell into default several years ago but have not been able to avoid foreclosure despite the housing recovery,” Blomquist added.
States with the highest foreclosure rates in April were New Jersey (one in every 562 housing units); Delaware (one in every 706 housing units); Maryland (one in every 776 housing units); Connecticut (one in every 956 housing units); and Illinois (one in every 1,083 housing units).
Metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rates in April were Atlantic City, N.J.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Trenton, N.J.; Rockford, Ill.; and Philadelphia.
The report found foreclosure starts continue to hover below pre-recession levels. In April, 34,085 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process, down 6 percent from the previous month and down 22 percent from a year ago. Between April 2005 and November 2007, there was an average of more than 77,000 foreclosure starts per month.