Foreclosure Starts Decrease Nationally, While REOs Increase From a Year Ago

There were 60,085 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in January 2020, up 13 percent from December 2019 and up 7 percent from a year ago. Nationally, one in every 2,270 U.S. properties received a foreclosure filing during the month of January.

Counter to the national trend, 16 states posted month-over-month decreases in foreclosure activity in January 2020. Including Iowa (down 44 percent); Oregon (down 28 percent); Nevada (down 28 percent); Louisiana (down 24 percent); and Washington (down 20 percent). ATTOM’s Foreclosure Market Trend Reports offer a detailed look at foreclosure data.

Foreclosure starts decrease from last year
Lenders started the foreclosure process for the first time on 26,858 property owners in January 2020, down less than 1 percent from the previous month but down 9 percent from a year ago.

Counter to the national trend, 19 states posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts, including California (up 27 percent); Tennessee (up 21 percent); Georgia (up 14 percent); Illinois (up 9 percent); and Ohio (up 3 percent).