Home Foreclosure Totals Keep Falling in Dallas-Fort Worth
The rise in home prices in North Texas has pushed home foreclosure rates to some of the lowest levels ever recorded. Nationwide foreclosure activity fell 13% in April from a year ago — the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year foreclosure decline, according to newest numbers from Attom Data Solutions. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the number of homes facing forced sale by lenders was down about 7% from April 2018 levels with less than 600 houses posted for foreclosure.
Back during the housing market shakeout a decade ago, thousands of D-FW homes a month were scheduled for foreclosure. In 2007, more than 55,000 North Texas homes were threatened with foreclosure in North Texas. But last year, foreclosure postings in the area were down to about 7,300 in D-FW.
Since the values of homes have gone up so much, people have more equity in their houses and can more easily sell or refinance a property instead of letting it go into foreclosure. Not every house posted for foreclosure is actually sold by lenders. In many cases, the borrower works out a new deal or the foreclosure is delayed. Out of the major U.S. markets Attom Data Solutions tracks, New York City had the most homes facing forced sale or already foreclosed — 4,372 homes. Chicago was second with 3,153 properties, and Philadelphia was third at 2,331.
"While overall foreclosure activity is down nationwide, there are still parts of the country that we need to keep a close eye on," Todd Teta, chief product officer at Attom Data Solutions, said in the report. "For instance, Florida is seeing a steady annual increase in total foreclosure activity for the eighth consecutive month, which is being sustained by a constant annual double-digit increase in foreclosure starts." Florida and Texas coastal communities are still recovering from hurricanes that caused home damage and raised foreclosure rates.
The metro areas that saw the largest year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in April were Orlando (up 90%), Miami (up 45%), Columbus (up 35%), Portland, Ore. (up 31%), and El Paso (up 22%). The states with the largest annual increase in foreclosure starts were Washington (up 38%), Florida (up 34%) and Oregon (up 22%)...
