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Amid ongoing challenges in the real estate market, a new report shows that foreclosures ticked down month over month in May, but were up 9 percent compared to the same time last year.
The report, from data firm ATTOM, shows that in May, there were 35,498 properties in the U.S. with foreclosure filings. That amounts to one in every 4,009 housing units with a filing. The report notes that these numbers are down 1 percent compared to April but up 9 percent compared to May of 2024.
Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, described the situation in May as “a mixed picture with fewer starts but a continued rise in completed foreclosures.”
“This suggests that while fewer new defaults are being initiated, lenders may still be working through a backlog of existing cases,” Barber added in the report. “We’ll be watching closely in the months ahead to see how these trends evolve.”
The states with the worst foreclosure rates include Delaware, where one in every 2,313 housing units had a foreclosure filing in May; Florida, at one in every 2,536 housing units; Illinois, at one in every 2,668 housing units; Nevada, at one in every 2,747 housing units; and Indiana, at one in every 2,983 housing units.
The three metro areas with populations over 500,000 and the worst foreclosure rates were all in Florida: Lakeland (one in every 1,506 housing units); Cape Coral (one in every 1,674 housing units); and Jacksonville (one in every 1,888 housing units).
The report also reveals that lenders repossessed 3,844 properties via completed foreclosures in May. That’s up 7 percent compared to April, and up 34 percent relative to the same time last year.
The year-over-year rise in foreclosures comes as the real estate market struggles with years of sluggishness. After a particularly active period during the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage rates jumped in 2022 and have remained elevated ever since. Higher rates have subsequently translated into slower sales and lower inventory.
However, while foreclosure rates have ticked up during this period of sluggishness and remain elevated compared to the early days of the pandemic, ATTOM data shows that they remain well below rates during the Great Recession.
