ATTOM Data Solutions, parent company of RealtyTrac, released their Q1 2019 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report this morning. For the nation as a whole foreclosure activity was down 15% from a year ago to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2008.
According to Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions:
While some markets saw a slight uptick in foreclosure filings, that is above pre-recession levels, the majority of the major markets are well below pre-recession levels. While we did see a slight increase in U.S. foreclosure starts from last quarter, bank repossessions reached an all-time low in the first quarter of 2019, showing continuing signs of a strong housing market.
In fact, 60% of the markets that ATTOM Data Solutions follows had first quarter foreclosure activity lower than pre-recession averages. Baltimore is in the worst shape with activity 189% above pre-recession averages.
They also showed how long it takes to complete a foreclosure and, unfortunately, after declining for several months it’s once again on the rise. The graph below provides some historical perspective.
They noted that Chicago ranked #14 out of 220 metro areas in terms of highest foreclosure rates and provided updated data on foreclosure activity in the city which I incorporated in my graph below. As you can see activity continues to trend down. March activity was down 35% from last year to one of the lowest levels that I have seen since I began tracking this.
Chicago Shadow Inventory
The number of Chicago homes in the foreclosure pipeline did decline slightly from February but it’s still higher than November – January as you can see in the graph below. Hopefully this is merely a short pause in the downward trend like we’ve seen before.
#ChicagoForeclosures #Foreclosures
Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.