Foreclosure activity hits a post-recession low in April

Foreclosure filings in April were at their lowest level since November 2005 at 77,049 properties, down 7% from March's 83,145 and 23% from April 2016.

Nationwide, one in every 1,723 housing units had a foreclosure filing — a default notice, scheduled auction or bank repossession — in April, according to Attom Data Solutions.

There were 34,085 properties that started the foreclosure process in April, down 6% from the previous month and down 22% from a year ago.

"Foreclosure activity continued to search for a new post-recession floor in April thanks in large part to the above-par performance of mortgages originated in the past seven years," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of Attom Data Solutions, in a press release.

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New Jersey had the highest foreclosure rate, one in every 562 housing units; followed by Delaware, one in every 706 housing units; Maryland, one in every 776 housing units; Connecticut, one in every 956 housing units; and Illinois, one in every 1,083 housing units.

Attom has started tracking reforeclosure rates in five markets: New York City; Essex County, N.J.; Miami-Dade County; Maricopa County, Ariz; and Los Angeles County.

"We are seeing an elevated share of repeat foreclosures on homeowners who often fell into default several years ago but have not been able to avoid foreclosure despite the housing recovery," Blomquist said.

A repeat foreclosure is where the property address with the same owner received a new notice in 2016 after previously getting one in the past 10 years.

The highest share of repeat foreclosures in 2016 was in the five boroughs of New York City (54%), followed by Los Angeles (39%), Miami-Dade County (32%), Maricopa County (26%) and Essex County (20%).

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