N.J. Had Among Worst Foreclosure Spikes In U.S. — Especially In These 11 Towns

New Jersey had the second highest foreclosure spikes in America in the past month — especially in 11 towns (see list below), according to a newly released report.

New Jersey had a 22.57 percent foreclosure rate increase in an October report, and had the second highest foreclosure rate in the nation, according to the report.

States with the highest foreclosure rates were Delaware — one in every 355 housing units with a foreclosure filing — and New Jersey — one in every 564 housing units, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, the curator of the nation’s largest fused property database.

Maryland follows, with one in every 679 housing units, then Illinois (one in every 704 housing units) and South Carolina (one in every 801 housing units).

The report links to RealtyTrac, which provides housing economic data and lists the 11 New Jersey towns with the worst foreclosure rates:

• Toms River, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Newark, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Trenton, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Jersey City, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Paterson, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Plainfield, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Brick, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Sicklerville, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Clementon, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Elizabeth, New Jersey Foreclosures
• Atlantic City, New Jersey Foreclosures

The firm released its October 2016 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report this week, which shows a total of 105,481 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — in October, up 27 percent from a 129-month low in September but still down 8 percent from a year ago.

October marked the 13th consecutive month when U.S. foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis, but the month-over-month increase in October was the biggest monthly increase since August 2007, according to the report.

Counter to the national trend, 28 states and the District of Columbia posted year-over-year increases in overall foreclosure activity in October, including New York (up 10 percent), Pennsylvania (up 20 percent), Ohio (up 4 percent), Georgia (up 22 percent), Virginia (up 15 percent), Massachusetts (up 11 percent), Arizona (up 17 percent), Indiana (up 3 percent), Wisconsin (up 3 percent) and Colorado (up 64 percent), according to the report.

“While some states are still slogging through the remnants of the last housing crisis, the foreclosure activity increases in states such as Arizona, Colorado and Georgia are more heavily tied to loans originated since 2009 — after most of the risky lending fueling the last housing boom had stopped,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “The increase in October isn’t enough evidence to indicate a new foreclosure crisis emerging in these states, but it certainly demonstrates that this housing recovery is not completely devoid of risk."

You can find all of the latest foreclosures here:

• Atlantic County, NJForeclosures
• Bergen County, NJForeclosures
• Burlington County, NJForeclosures
• Camden County, NJForeclosures
• Cape May County, NJForeclosures
• Cumberland County, NJForeclosures
• Essex County, NJForeclosures
• Gloucester County, NJForeclosures
• Hudson County, NJForeclosures
• Hunterdon County, NJForeclosures
• Mercer County, NJForeclosures
• Middlesex County, NJForeclosures
• Monmouth County, NJForeclosures
• Morris County, NJForeclosures
• Ocean County, NJForeclosures
• Passaic County, NJForeclosures
• Salem County, NJForeclosures
• Somerset County, NJForeclosures
• Sussex County, NJForeclosures
• Union County, NJForeclosures
• Warren County, NJForeclosures

The report showed a national foreclosure rate of one in every 1,258 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing in September.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 highest in September were Nevada (one in every 826 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month); Florida (one in every 895 housing units); Ohio (one in every 930 housing units); Pennsylvania (one in every 1,018 housing units); and Georgia (one in every 1,028 housing units).

“We would expect to see an increase in Florida foreclosure activity in the coming months given the October ruling by the state supreme court there that allows lenders to re-file a foreclosure action against a homeowner in default even if a previous foreclosure case against that homeowner was dismissed and that original foreclosure case was filed more than five years ago, outside the state’s statute of limitations for foreclosure,” Blomquist noted in a news release.

Foreclosure starts post biggest monthly increase since December 2008

A total of 43,352 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in October, up 25 percent from the previous month but still down 11 percent from a year ago. October was the 16th consecutive month with a year-over-year decrease in foreclosure starts, but the 25 percent month-to-month increase in October was the biggest month-to-month increase in foreclosure starts since December 2008.

Counter to the national trend, 23 states and the District of Columbia posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts, including New York (up 15 percent), Ohio (up 34 percent), Virginia (up 15 percent), Arizona (up 48 percent) and Colorado (up 71 percent).

Among 216 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in October were York-Hanover, Pennsylvania (one in every 274 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month); Atlantic City, New Jersey (one in every 301 housing units); Rockford, Illinois (one in every 481 housing units); Columbia, South Carolina (one in every 498 housing units); and Trenton, New Jersey (one in every 499 housing units.

Other metro areas with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 highest in October were Reading, Pennsylvania (one in every 542 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month); Chicago (one in every 571 housing units); Dayton, Ohio (one in every 573 housing units); Philadelphia (one in every 597 housing units); and Salisbury, Maryland (one in every 625 housing units).

Patch file photo