THE GADFLY-In Memory of Larry Angel: Atlantic County Ranks Highest In Country For Foreclosures

MICHELLE BRUNETTI POST, Staff Writer
The Atlantic City Metropolitan area continues to lead the nation in foreclosure activity, with a rate four times the national average, according to a July report.

One in every 258 housing units had a foreclosure filing in July, according to RealtyTrac’s July 2015 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. That was the worst showing of any statistical area with a population of 200,000 or more.

Such filings include notices of default or pending legal action, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. The Atlantic City Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Atlantic County.

“In a sense it’s worsening because the foreclosure numbers are getting higher, but I don’t see a major shift in trend,” said RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist. “In Atlantic City, we are continuing to see activity up across the board.”

Nationally, new foreclosure starts are down to their lowest level since 2005, even though overall foreclosure activity was up 7 percent from the previous month and 14 percent from last July.

But in Atlantic County starts were up almost 72 percent from last July.

“That is indication that Atlantic City is in for a tougher and longer haul back to a healthy housing market,” Blomquist said.

It’s impossible to predict when the market might return to normal in Atlantic County, he said.

“Since you are still ramping up, we don’t quite know what the peak is,” Blomquist said. “We believe some of the repossessions are still tied to the last crisis, while starts are more likely tied to recent economic problems.”

But he said Stockton, California, and Phoenix, Arizona, were both leading the nation’s foreclosure rates about five years ago, and the markets have turned around in both of those places. They now have foreclosure rates lower than the national average.

“Things can turn around and sometimes pretty quickly,” Blomquist said.

New Jersey’s statewide foreclosure starts also increased. They are up 129 percent over last July. Blomquist said some of the starts may involve properties that entered the foreclosure process years ago, then fell out of it. They are counted again as starts if it has been at least three years since the last default notice, he said.

New Jersey posted the third-highest overall foreclosure rate for states, behind just Florida and Maryland.

More activity in auction notices and bank repossessions across the country meant July was the fifth consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in overall foreclosure activity. That followed 53 consecutive months of decreases, according to RealtyTrac.

Nationwide a total of 124,910 U.S. properties experienced foreclosure filings in July.

For the full report visit: realtytrac.com/news/foreclosure-trends/realtytrac-july-2015-u-s-foreclosure-market-report/.

Contact: 609-272-7219

MPost@pressofac.com

Twitter @MichelleBPost Foreclosure chart Atlantic County 8-19-2015