Roughly 1.3 million U.S. residential properties were vacant in the second quarter of this year, according to new data from ATTOM. This represents about 1.3%, or one in 79 homes, the same level as the first quarter.
ATTOM also found 237,208 residential properties are in the process of foreclosure in the second quarter, down 2.3% from the first quarter of 2024 and down 23.9% from the second quarter of 2023.
Among those pre-foreclosure properties are about 6,945 sitting vacant as zombie foreclosures (pre-foreclosure properties abandoned by owners), down by 5.4% from the previous quarter and down 20.6% from one year ago. One of every 14,724 homes can be considered as a zombie property, down from 13,905 in the prior quarter and from one in 11,577 in the second quarter of last year, to the lowest level since early 2021.
A total of 6,945 residential properties facing possible foreclosure have been vacated by their owners nationwide in the second quarter, down from 7,338 in the first quarter and 8,752 in the second quarter of 2023. The number of zombie properties has decreased quarterly in 30 states and annually in 38.
“Predictions of a huge spike in foreclosures after the moratorium, with the potential for a surge in zombie properties, never came true. Indeed, the opposite has happened, as abandoned homes in foreclosure continue to get harder and harder to find around the country,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “Some signs have popped up over the past year that the long U.S. housing market boom is giving back some of its gains, which could lead to declining equity and more foreclosures. We are still far from losing the benefit of having zombie properties nearly disappear from the housing market landscape.”
Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection
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