Miami Q1 foreclosure activity at 44% below pre-recession level

Miami’s foreclosure activity in the first quarter was 44 percent below its pre-recesssion level, according to a newly released report.

Overall, Attom Data Solutions found that new foreclosure activity in the first quarter was below the pre-recession level nationwide and in 102 of 216 — or 47 percent — of the metro areas it analyzed.

Nationwide, the report shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 234,508 U.S. properties in the first quarter of 2017, down 11 percent from the previous quarter and down 19 percent from a year ago. The figure is the lowest level since the third quarter of 2006, Attom said.

U.S. foreclosure activity on a quarterly basis first dipped below pre-recession averages in the fourth quarter of last year, and the latest report shows the trend continuing, Attom said. The number of local markets dropping below pre-recession levels also continues to grow, up from 78 a year ago, to 102 in the first quarter.

The 102 local markets with first quarter foreclosure activity below pre-recession averages included Los Angeles (46 percent below); Dallas (73 percent below); Houston (52 percent below); Miami (44 percent below); and Atlanta (67 percent below). Other major markets with first quarter foreclosure activity below pre-recession averages were San Francisco, Riverside-San Bernardino in Southern California, Phoenix, Detroit and Seattle, according to Attom’s report.

Miami-Dade County was once a hotspot for foreclosure activity during the housing market crash, and until last year held a top place in the nation for its ratio of lender-owned homes. Its strengthening housing market has helped flush those distressed properties out of the market, in part leading to higher housing prices.

In 114 out of the 216 markets Attom analyzed, first quarter foreclosure activity levels were still above pre-recession averages, including New York (80 percent above); Chicago (9 percent above); Philadelphia (97 percent above); Washington, D.C. (64 percent above); and Boston (26 percent above). Other major markets with first quarter foreclosure activity above pre-recession averages included Baltimore, Virginia Beach, Providence, Rhode Island; Richmond, Virginia; and New Orleans.