While COVID remains a significant threat worldwide, surprisingly, U.S. foreclosures filings were on the rise in 2020. We can still expect a steady increase in foreclosure filings for the first quarter of 2021.
If you have a California real estate license and you’re wondering how you can find your way into the real estate market, you will need this article helpful.
In this article, we share some statistics on real estate foreclosures across the U.S. for the year 2020. We believe this can be an eye-opener as you look forward to tightening your belts in 2021.
A decrease in foreclosures across the U.S
According to the latest October 2020 U.S. foreclosure Market Report by Reality Track, it is noted that over 11 000 real estate properties had foreclosure filings in the U.S.
That’s a 79.0% rise in the previous year and a 20% rise from September 2020.
The number of foreclosures across states seems to be increasing despite the pandemic.
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According to the executive director of Reality Track, Rick Sharga, it is likely that most real estate properties under foreclosure were either abandoned or were in the early stages of foreclosure before the COVID pandemic.
South Carolina and Alabama record the highest foreclosure rateÂ
There was a drastic increase in the number of real estate foreclosures across the U.S. for the last quarter of 2020. The states with the highest foreclosure rates include Louisiana, South Carolina, Nebraska, and Alabama.
At least one in every 6,133 housing units in South Carolina had a foreclosure filing. In Alabama, the rate was one in every 6,600 for October.
Metropolitan areas with the lowest population (below 200,000 people) that had the highest foreclosure rates include Peoria ( 1 in every 1543 units), Houma ( 1 in every 2964 units), and Champaign (1 in every 1674 units).
According to ATTOM Data Solutions, Montana, West Virginia, and South Dakota recorded the lowest real estate foreclosure fillings. Only 50 housing units in South Dakota had foreclosure fillings.
Fewer repossessed homes in 2020
Losing a home is one of the most devastating things a family can go through. While most Americans were spending time indoors during the lockdown, losing homes was the least of their worries. In the last Q3 of 2019, lenders reposed over 30, 000 properties in the U.S.
At least 64.4% of all homes in the U.S. are occupied by owners. That means if the economy is bad and people cannot pay mortgages, the rate of property repossession is likely to rise. With few people losing their homes to lenders in the third quarter of 2020, it’s good news to those real estate investors that 2021 may be a good year.
ConclusionÂ
Foreclosure filings and trends in the U.S. are closely looking up. This is brought by easy access to credit facilities.
Commercial banks and other lenders are offering low-interest mortgages to applicants, which encourage investment. Today, only a few Americans may be struggling to pay their mortgages if the statistics we have shared here are anything to go by.
