IRVINE, CA—The number of vacant properties dropped 3% last quarter from the previous quarter, and was down 9% from a year ago.

This information comes from ATTOM Data Solutions, the new parent company of RealtyTrac, as part of the firm's Q3 2016 U.S. Residential Property Vacancy and Zombie Foreclosure Report, released today. RealtyTrac says nearly 1.4 million (1,361,188) U.S. residential properties (1 to 4 units) representing 1.6 percent of all residential properties were vacant as of the end of the third quarter.

The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM Data Solutions — including foreclosure status, equity, and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data from the U.S. Postal Service. Vacancy data is available at the address level for more than 85 million U.S. residential properties at the RealtyTrac website.

The report shows that as of the end of the third quarter, 18,304 U.S. residential properties actively in the foreclosure process were vacant (zombie foreclosures), representing 4.7% of all residential properties in foreclosure. The number of zombie foreclosures decreased 5 percent from the previous quarter and decreased 9% from Q3 2015.

Meanwhile there were 46,604 vacant bank-owned (REO) residential properties as of the end of the third quarter, an increase of 7% from the previous quarter and up 67% from Q3 2015.

“A strong seller's market along with political pressure has likely motivated lenders to complete the foreclosure process over the past year on many vacant properties that were lingering in foreclosure limbo for years,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. “While that has reduced the number of vacant properties in the foreclosure process — so-called zombie foreclosures — it has also resulted in a corresponding rise in the number of vacant bank-owned homes. Assuming that the foreclosing lenders are maintaining these properties and paying the property taxes, they pose less of a threat to neighborhood quality than zombie foreclosures, but they still represent latent inventory in an inventory-starved housing market.”

States with the most vacant REO properties as of the end of the third quarter were Florida (5,880), Michigan (4,661), Ohio (3,585), Illinois (2,652), and Georgia (2,626). Among 148 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties analyzed for the report, those with the most vacant REOs were Detroit (2,386), Chicago (2,379), Miami (1,880), Philadelphia (1,737) and New York (1,668).

“With increasing jobs across Ohio, and low market available inventory, strong demand continues to drive vacancies to reduced levels across Ohio,” said Michael Mahon, president at HER Realtors, covering the Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus markets in Ohio, where zombie foreclosures decreased 3 percent from a year ago and overall vacancies were down 7 percent. “Reduced vacancies continue to provide the fuel for what appears to be a continued seller's market through the fall.”

Metro areas with the highest number of vacant foreclosures (zombies) were New York (3,590), Philadelphia (1,525), Chicago (783), Miami (694), and Tampa (603).

The complete report,and other data is available on RealtyTrac's website.

Methodology: ATTOM Data Solutions matched its address-level property data for more than 85 million U.S. residential properties — including foreclosure status, owner-occupancy status, and equity — against monthly updated data from the U.S. Postal Service indicating whether a property had been flagged as vacant by the postal carrier. Only metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties were included in the rankings.

IRVINE, CA—The number of vacant properties dropped 3% last quarter from the previous quarter, and was down 9% from a year ago.

Meanwhile there were 46,604 vacant bank-owned (REO) residential properties as of the end of the third quarter, an increase of 7% from the previous quarter and up 67% from Q3 2015.

Metro areas with the highest number of vacant foreclosures (zombies) were New York (3,590), Philadelphia (1,525), Chicago (783), Miami (694), and Tampa (603).

The complete report,and other data is available on RealtyTrac's website.

Instant Insights /

Vacancies, Zombie Foreclosures Dropping

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