For anyone who closely followed the bursting of the real estate bubble and the ensuing foreclosure crisis after 2007, you likely know that there is a strong link between vacant properties and foreclosures in Illinois and throughout the country. When homeowners abandon properties because they cannot afford to make mortgage payments and those properties end up in foreclosure, other homes in the neighborhood can suffer, too. For example, if homeowners considering selling their house live in a neighborhood with numerous vacant properties, their home might also decline in market value due to the unsightliness of the vacancies. If those same homeowners need to sell their house because they cannot afford mortgage payments or have an underwater mortgage, the existence of those vacancies can be even more problematic.
Yet according to a recent article in Curbed, the overall rate of vacant properties in neighborhoods throughout the U.S. is on a continuous decline, particularly in a number of Midwestern areas. The fact that there are fewer vacant homes could be a good sign in terms of homeowners’ ability to avoid foreclosure.
Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Rates Continue to Get Lower
Many properties that end up vacant—especially the ones that ultimately harm market values of other homes in the same neighborhood—might also be classified as “zombie” foreclosures. As you may recall from the days of the foreclosure crisis, a “zombie” foreclosure is a term to refer to a residential property that has been left vacant (or abandoned) by the homeowners after learning that the house is going into foreclosure. Few of those homeowners return to the property, but when foreclosures get canceled for one reason or another, the properties remain vacant and can enter various stages of disrepair.
According to the article, zombie foreclosures and vacancies have shown a steady decline in recent years, and that drop continues to occur. Even in the cities that still have some of the highest vacant property rates in the country, zombie foreclosures are not nearly as common as the used to be. The article cites data from an ATTOM Data Solutions report. That report indicates that about 1,530,563 single-family homes and condos in the U.S. were vacant as of the end of the third quarter of 2019. To put that figure another way, it represents about 1.6% of all single-family homes and condos. The number of properties in foreclosure was much lower, at 304,000. That number is 22% lower than it was at the same point of the year in 2016.
Even Midwestern Cities are Seeing Improvement
Midwestern cities in the U.S. were some of the hardest hit by zombie foreclosures and vacancies. Yet as the report makes clear, “there, too, the situation is starting to improve.” More homeowners are buying previously vacant properties because there are more people seeking out homes for purchase in general.
This is all good news because, as the report explains, the phenomenon of “hyper-vacancy,” in which many zombie foreclosures or vacancies exist, is “usually concentrated in areas that are losing jobs, investment, and economic opportunity.” If these areas are seeing more homebuyers and the blight associated with vacancies is slowly improving, it could be a sign of more economic stability in general and fewer families grappling with the threat of foreclosure.
Contact an Oak Park Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
If you have questions about the links between current real estate and foreclosure, or if you need help avoiding foreclosure, an experienced Oak Park foreclosure defense attorney at our firm can assist you. Contact the Emerson Law Firm today.
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Showing posts with label zombie foreclosures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zombie foreclosures. Show all posts
Friday, August 23, 2019
Friday, June 10, 2016
Report Shows Noticeable Decrease in “Zombie” Foreclosures
Do Chicago residents still need to worry about vacant homes in foreclosure blighting neighborhoods? According to a recent article in Marketwired.com, the total number of “zombie” foreclosures throughout the country has decreased by about 30% over the last year. That number is good news for homeowners who are concerned about vacant properties on their streets, and it is a particularly positive update for Chicago residents who are hoping the value of their properties will increase.
What else should you know about the dwindling rate of zombie foreclosures in Chicago? Does the salient decrease in vacant homes suggest that residents of Chicagoland no longer need to worry about the threat of foreclosure?
Fewer Zombie Foreclosures Across the Country
The article cites a recent report from RealtyTrac, which provides housing data for cities throughout the country. A couple of weeks ago, RealtyTrac released its “Q2 2016 U.S. Residential Property Vacancy and Zombie Foreclosure Report13,” which provided details about the total number of vacant zombie foreclosures in America. In short, many of these vacant properties remain in urban areas of the country. As of May 2016, almost 1.4 million properties remained vacant due. This number (1,398,046 to be exact) represents around “1.6% of all residential properties” in our country, according to the article.
How many of those vacant properties are empty because of foreclosure? In total, there are 19,187 vacant residential properties throughout the United States that are “actively in the foreclosure process.” In total, this number represents “4.7% of all residential properties in foreclosure.” While that might sound like a lot of homes, the good news is that the number is on the decline. It is down more than three percent from April 2016, and it is down by 30.1% from May 2015. The total number of vacant homes that are currently in foreclosure has dropped by more than 30% over the last year.
According to the article, the “strong seller’s market” has enabled lenders to sell more vacant homes and to lower the number of zombie foreclosures. As Daren Blomquist explained, “as these zombie foreclosures hit the market for sale they are providing a modicum of relief for the pressure cooker of escalating prices and deteriorating affordability that have defined the U.S. housing market in recent years.”
Higher Rate of Zombie Foreclosures in Illinois
Despite the fact that there are far fewer zombie foreclosures now than at this same time last year, Illinois still is ranked among the states with the highest number of vacant properties. According to the article, Illinois had the fourth-highest rate of vacant zombie foreclosures as of May 2016, with 1,074 listed in this category. When it comes to metropolitan areas with vacant zombie foreclosures, Chicago was ranked third-highest with 857 properties. The only cities with higher zombie foreclosure numbers were New York and Philadelphia.
The housing market is getting better, and Illinois neighborhoods are improving. However, foreclosure issues remain. If you have questions about avoiding foreclosure, and experienced Oak Park foreclosure defense lawyer can assist you. Contact the Emerson Law Firm today for more information.
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Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Update on Zombie Foreclosures in Chicago
Are Chicago neighborhoods continuing to grapple with boarded up homes due to foreclosure? According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, there are fewer “zombie” foreclosures, as they have come to be known. They have “plummeted from a year ago.” However, as the article emphasizes, “there are still more than 7,000 of the empty homes working their way through the foreclosure process.”
Foreclosures Remain, Numbers Decline
As a quick reminder, “zombie” foreclosures are those, according to RealtyTrac, where you have “a vacant home that is actively in the foreclosure process.” Other experts define these properties further as those in which the lender is not following through on the foreclosure, and thus the house is left in an empty, eerie state of limbo. In general, Illinois residents are seeing fewer “zombie” foreclosures than before. All of the counties in the greater Chicago area “recorded double-digit percentage decreases” in foreclosures when compared with the second quarter in 2014, based on data from RealtyTrac.
At the same time, however, decreases in the numbers do not necessary mean that foreclosed homes are not still a problem in many communities. Thousands of homes remain in foreclosure. As of March 31st of this year, the following counties still recorded foreclosures in the hundreds and even thousands:
- Cook County had about 3,600 properties in foreclosure
- DuPage County had 488 foreclosures
- More than 150 foreclosures in Kendall County
- 434 properties in foreclosure in Kane County
- 680 foreclosures in Lake County
- More than 600 properties in foreclosure in Will County
If there are still thousands of foreclosures in the Chicago area, should we really be emphasizing improvement?
Public Policy Measures Combat Zombie Foreclosures
In short, those foreclosure numbers reveal a salient improvement in the number of “zombie” foreclosures affecting Illinoisans. Indeed, according to Daren Blomquist, the vice president at RealtyTrac, he sees significant improvement in foreclosure activity in the Chicago area that is likely the result of considerable measures aimed at combating the problem.
As Blomquist explained, “A growing number of states and cities have enacted public policy measures to combat the problem of zombie foreclosures, and we are seeing the results of those efforts in the overall decrease nationwide as well as in several hard-hit markets such as Chicago.”
On the whole, “zombie” foreclosures have declined across the country. RealtyTrac’s data suggests that about 127,000 of these properties still exist throughout the country, but that number represents a 10 percent decrease from the same time last year. However, Chicago is one of a handful of metropolitan areas in which the rate of “zombie” foreclosures has decreased. While policies in our state have resulted in a decline in the number of abandoned properties in the Chicago area, cities such as Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia have actually presented an “uptick” in the number of “zombie properties” in existence.
For now, it is important to take action to prevent foreclosure if possible. Foreclosure remains a significant problem for homeowners throughout the Chicago area. If you have questions about avoiding foreclosure, don’t hesitate to discuss your case with an experienced Oak Park foreclosure defense attorney. An advocate at the Emerson Law Firm can discuss your situation with you today.
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