10 Places Where Foreclosures Are Problematic

Is your city on the list??? There are still plenty of properties out there that are still in the foreclosure process. Here’s what’s being said…

Distressed properties – including both foreclosures and short sales – are in free-fall nationwide, declining to 7 percent of all homes in July, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. About 5 percent of sales in July were foreclosures while 2 percent were short sales.

Read more: Where ‘Zombie’ Foreclosures Still Lurk

“Five years ago, distressed sales represented 33 percent of the market in July,” says Chris Polychron, NAR’s president. “For many previously distressed home owners throughout the country, rising home values in recent years have helped recover equity and the vast improvement in several local job markets means fewer are falling behind on their mortgage payments.”

However, some markets are continuing to see an elevated number of foreclosures. In 61 of the 172 markets RealtyTrac recently analyzed for in-foreclosure sales, the share of those sales saw an uptick from a year ago, which runs counter to the national trend. Most of the increase over the last five months in these markets has been driven by a rise in bank repossessions, which in July reached the highest level since January 2013. Foreclosure starts, on the other hand, remain at the lowest level since 2005.

“The recent rise in bank repossessions represents banks flushing out old distress rather than new distress being pushed into the pipeline,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

Still, the following 10 markets have the highest percentage of foreclosures making up the percentage of homes sold, according to RealtyTrac:

1. Salisbury, N.C.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 23.6%

2. Rockford, Ill.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 17.1%

3. Morehead City, N.C.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 16.3%

4. Baltimore, Md.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 16.1%

5. Toledo, Ohio

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 15.2%

6. Chicago, Ill.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 14.7%

7. Tampa, Fla.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 12.7%

8. Las Vegas, Nev.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 12.3%

9. Milwaukee, Wis.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 11.7%

10. Virginia Beach, Va.

Foreclosures as percentage of homes sold: 11.4%

Source: “10 Cities Where Foreclosures Still Haunt the Housing Market,” Mainstreet.com (Sept. 2, 2015)