Foreclosures are not nearly as prevalent as they were during the housing crisis in 2008. But they are still occurring.
In fact, some states are seeing an uptick in foreclosure starts compared to last year, notably Montana (up 48 percent), Minnesota (up 29 percent), Nebraska (up 28 percent), Texas (up 15 percent), and Florida (up 13 percent), according to a year-end foreclosure report released recently by ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.
A foreclosure start is the first public notice, such as a notice of default. During the housing crisis, investors were drawn to foreclosures for their often lower prices. First-time buyers who are looking for a bargain may be drawn to a foreclosed property as well. Sixty-seven percent of millennial home shoppers who participated in a recent Clever Real Estate survey said they’d put in an offer on a property in need of major repairs.
Several counties across the country are seeing an increase in foreclosure starts. ATTOM researchers broke the numbers down by looking at counties with populations of more than 100,000 that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts.
Cook County, Ill., is seeing the largest increase in the nation—the area saw a total of 800 properties start the foreclosure process in January 2019, according to ATTOM’s research.
The following are the top 20 counties with the most foreclosure starts, as of January 2019:
- Cook, Illinois
- Harris, Texas
- Maricopa, Ariz.
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- Suffolk, N.Y.
- Broward, Fla.
- Miami-Dade, Fla.
- Baltimore City, Md.
- Prince George’s County, Md.
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- Riverside, Calif.
- Clark, Nev.
- Cuyahoga, Ohio
- San Bernardino, Calif.
- Palm Beach, Fla.
- Duval, Fla.
- San Diego, Calif.
- Dallas, Texas
- Tarrant, Texas
- Wayne, Mich.
Source: “Top 20 Counties With the Most Foreclosure Starts,” ATTOM Data Solutions (Feb. 22, 2019)
