Drastic difference between foreclosure starts & completions could signal trend

Foreclosure starts for the month of April did not change month over month, while completed foreclosures decreased 36% from March, according to ATTOM’s April 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The report noted a total of 30,674 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, which was down 8% from the prior month but up 160% from a year ago.

Lenders began the foreclosure process on 22,286 U.S. properties in April, down slightly from 22,360 last month but up 251% from a year ago. Bucking the national trend, there were states with at least 100 foreclosure starts in April that also had the greatest monthly increases in foreclosure starts: Massachusetts (up 133%); Colorado (up 95%); Minnesota (up 59%); Indiana (up 39%); and Washington (up 24%).

The states with the highest foreclosure rates were Illinois (one in every 2,241 housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (one in every 2,292 housing units); Ohio (one in every 2,585 housing units); Indiana (one in every 2,660 housing units); and Nevada (one in every 3,043 housing units).

Reposessions through completed foreclosures totaled 2,830 in April, down 36% from March but up 82% from last year.

“The extreme difference between foreclosure starts and foreclosure completions in April might be the beginning of a trend,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence for ATTOM. “Record levels of homeowner equity should provide financially distressed homeowners the opportunity to sell their homes prior to a foreclosure auction, meaning we should continue to see fewer foreclosure completions. While it may take several months to determine if this is actually what’s happening, it seems like a real possibility in today’s low supply/high demand housing market.”

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