Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Foreclosures Down Nationwide, But Not in Illinois

Each month, consumers across the country encounter news about the continuing decline of foreclosures. While such news typically suggests a stronger economy than in the years immediately following the foreclosure crisis, the state of Illinois has not yet fully bounced back. Or, at least, it remains among the hardest-hit states for foreclosure activity. According to a recent report from DSNews.com, an April 2017 Foreclosure Market report from ATTOM Data Solutions indicated that foreclosures nationwide have “now reached their lowest point since late 2005,” yet that decline is not as evident in Illinois.
Declining Foreclosure Rates Across the Country
In general, foreclosure rates continue to decline. As the recent report explains, foreclosure rates were down 23% from April 2016, meaning that foreclosure rates are actually at the lowest they have been since 2005. In total, there were just over 77,000 foreclosure filings in April 2017. This number “includes all default notices, bank repossessions, and scheduled auctions.” To put that number another way, around one out of every 1,723 homes (or about 0.06 percent) was in foreclosure last month. Less than 1% of all homes nationwide were in some state of foreclosure as of the end of the month.
However, not all states have equally low foreclosure rates. Indeed, the low number we cited above is a nationwide average, which includes states where foreclosure rates are even lower than the figure we mentioned, as well as those in which the foreclosure rates may be significantly higher. Unfortunately, Illinois is a state that falls into the latter grouping.
Illinois Has Fifth-Highest Foreclosure Rate in the Country
When it comes to states that are still dealing with high rates of foreclosure, Illinois is not the worst among them. At the same time, however, the report notes that it has the fifth-highest foreclosure rate in the country. Here are the numbers for the states that made the “top five” in terms of foreclosure activity:
  • New Jersey’s Atlantic City metro area (1 out of every 237 homes in foreclosure);
  • Delaware (1 out of every 706 homes in foreclosure);
  • Maryland (1 out of every 776 homes in foreclosure);
  • Connecticut (1 out of every 956 homes in foreclosure); and
  • Illinois (1 out of every 1,083 homes in foreclosure).
Some other notable cities with high foreclosure rates were Fayetteville, North Carolina, Trenton, New Jersey, Rockford, Illinois, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Are these numbers really a reason to worry? When you look at the total number of homes in foreclosure in Illinois, 1 out of every 1,083 sounds bad. However, when we think about he percentage (about 0.09%), that number does not seem so high. The good news is that, when it comes to repeat foreclosures, the Chicago area is not mentioned as one of the regions with a high rate.
Contact an Oak Park Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
Given that Chicago foreclosure rates remain high compared to other states across the country, it is important to learn more about avoiding foreclosure if you are behind in mortgage payments. An experienced foreclosure defense attorney in Oak Park can help. Contact the Emerson Law Firm today to learn more about how we can assist you.
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