There were 15,838 foreclosure filings in August, a 27% jump from the previous month.

Foreclosure activity increased significantly in August after the federal foreclosure moratorium ended July 31, reported ATTOM, Irvine, Calif. The ATTOM U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for August showed 15,838 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings–either default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions–up 27 percent from July and up 60 percent from a year ago. The numbers reflect the first month since the government moratorium lifted. The federal ban on foreclosures expired in July, but the Federal Housing Administration extended its moratorium on evictions for foreclosed borrowers and their occupants through September 30. Rick Sharga, Executive Vice President at ATTOM subsidiary RealtyTrac, said foreclosure activity increased “as expected” as the government’s foreclosure moratorium expired, “but this doesn’t mean we should expect to see a flood of distressed properties coming to market,” he said. “We’ll continue to see foreclosure activity increase over the next three months as loans that were in default prior to the moratorium re-enter the foreclosure pipeline and states begin to catch up on months of foreclosure filings that simply haven’t been processed during the pandemic.”  But Sharga said foreclosures will likely remain below normal levels at least through the end of the year. Nationwide, one in every 8,677 housing units had a foreclosure filing in August.  ATTOM reported lenders started the foreclosure process on 8,348 U.S. properties in August, up 27 percent from last month and up 49 percent from a year ago.

Source: The Mortgage Bankers Association