IRVINE, Calif., July 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation's largest multi-sourced property database, today released its Midyear 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows a total of 428,400 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — in the first six months of 2017, down 20 percent from the same time period a year ago and down 28 percent from the same time period two years ago.

Counter to the national trend, eight states and the District of Columbia posted a year-over-year increase in foreclosure activity in the first half of 2017. Foreclosure activity increased 60 percent in the District compared to a year, while states with an increase included New Jersey (up 2 percent); Connecticut (up 3 percent); Louisiana (up 5 percent); and Mississippi (up 11 percent).  

"With a few local market exceptions, foreclosures have become the unicorns of the housing market: hard to find but highly sought after," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. "More than 38 percent of properties sold at foreclosure auction in the first half of this year went to third-party buyers rather than back to the bank — the highest share we've ever seen going back as far as 2000, the earliest this data is available."

New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland post highest state foreclosure rates
Nationwide 0.32 percent of all housing units (one in every 311) had a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2017.

States with the highest foreclosure rates in the first half of 2017 were New Jersey (0.99 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (0.73 percent); Maryland (0.62 percent); Illinois (0.55 percent); and Connecticut (0.50 percent).

Foreclosure starts and bank repossessions both down
A total of 203,875 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in the first six months of 2017, down 20 percent from a year ago to the lowest six-month total going back to the second half of 2005, the earliest data available.

Lenders foreclosed (REO) on a total of 169,124 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2017, down 14 percent from a year ago to the lowest six-month total since the second half of 2014.

Share of foreclosures sold to third-party buyers at new high
Among properties lost to foreclosure at the public foreclosure auction in the first half of 2017, 38.3 percent went to third-party buyers, up from 26.9 percent in the first half of 2016 to the highest level as far back as data is available, to the first half of 2000. The share of completed foreclosures going to third-party buyers peaked during the previous housing boom at 22.3 percent in the first half of 2005.

Q2 2017 foreclosure activity below pre-recession averages in 49 percent of markets
There were a total of 220,062 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in Q2 2017, down 6 percent from previous quarter and down 22 percent from a year ago to lowest quarterly total since Q2 2006.

Second quarter foreclosure activity was below pre-recession averages in 49 percent of the 217 metro areas analyzed in the report.

"Robust home price growth combined with strong employment growth has led to an ongoing decline in foreclosure activity in the greater Seattle area," said Matthew Gardner, chief economist with Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market, where Q1 2017 foreclosure activity was 26 percent below its pre-recession average. "As we move forward through this year, I expect the level of foreclosure activity to continue to drop and fall further below the long-term average."

Average foreclosure timeline hits new all-time high
Properties foreclosed in the second quarter of 2017 took an average of 883 days from the first public foreclosure notice to complete the foreclosure process, up from 814 days in the previous quarter and up from 631 days in the second quarter of 2016 to the longest average foreclosure timeline as far back as data is available, Q1 2007.

View the full report and report methodology.

About ATTOM Data Solutions
ATTOM Data Solutions is the curator of the ATTOM Data Warehouse, a multi-sourced national property database that blends property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, health hazards, neighborhood characteristics and other property characteristic data for more than 150 million U.S. residential and commercial properties. The ATTOM Data Warehouse delivers actionable data to businesses, consumers, government agencies, universities, policymakers and the media in multiple ways, including bulk file licenses, APIs and customized reports.

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