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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 60 J O U R N A L June 2023 » Oklahoma (zombie properties up 22%, from 142 to 173) » Georgia (zombie properties up 22%, from 78 to 95) » Iowa (zombie properties up 21%, from 227 to 274) The only quarterly decreases among states with at least 50 zombie foreclosures were found in: » Michigan (zombie properties down 20%, from 74 to 59) » South Carolina (zombie properties down 2%, from 154 to 151) » Pennsylvania (zombie properties down 1%, from 404 to 401) » New York (zombie properties down less than 1%, from 2,006 to 2,000). The Empire State of New York continues to have the highest ratio of zombie homes to all residential properties at one in every 2,140 homes; followed by Ohio at one in 3,615 homes; Iowa at one in 4,480 homes; Illinois at one in 4,687 homes; and Florida at one in 5,926 homes. ATTOM reports that the vacancy rate for residential properties in the U.S. has re- mained the same in Q2 of 2023 after dropping in the prior three quarters—currently at 1.27% (one in 79 properties), the same as in Q1 of 2023, but still down from 1.31% recorded in Q2 of last year (one in 76). States reporting the largest annual drops in the overall vacancy rate are: » Tennessee (down from 1.55% of all homes in Q2 of 2022 to 1.02% in Q2 of 2023) » Michigan (down from 2.14% to 1.88%) » Georgia (down from 1.61% to 1.39%) » Minnesota (down from 0.95% to 0.73%) » New Jersey (down from 0.53% to 0.36%) Among the 166 metropolitan statisti- cal areas in the United States with at least 100,000 residential properties and at least 100 properties facing possible foreclosure in Q2 of 2023, the highest zombie foreclosure rates were found in: » Wichita, Kansas, where 13.1% of properties in the foreclosure process were vacant » Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where 11.3% of proper- ties in the foreclosure process were vacant » Peoria, Illinois, where 9.7% of properties in the foreclosure process were vacant » Toledo, Ohio, where 8.8% of properties in the foreclosure process were vacant Default Servicing ONE IN 80 U.S. HOMES REPORTED VACANT IN Q2 A TTOM's Q2 2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report has found that 1.3 million (1,285,633) residential properties in the U.S. remain vacant—a total that represents 1.3%, or one in 79 homes, across the nation. In order to determine the number of zombie foreclosures nationwide, ATTOM analyzes publicly recorded real estate data— including foreclosure, equity, and owner-oc- cupancy status—matched against monthly updated vacancy data. The Q2 2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report reveals that 311,508 residential properties in the United States were in the process of foreclosure in Q2 of 2023, up 4.3% from Q1 of 2023, and up 20.2% from Q2 of 2022. Among those pre-foreclosure properties, 8,752 sit vacant as zombie foreclosures (pre-foreclo- sure properties abandoned by owners) in Q2 of 2023. That figure is up 7.5% from the prior quarter, and up 15.6% from a year ago. The count of zombie properties has grown in each of the last five quarters, dating back to early in 2022. However, the number of zombie fore- closures remains historically low, with little impact on the nation's total stock of 101.3 million residential properties. "Zombie foreclosures keep inching up as lenders pursue more delinquent homeowners in courts around the country. All indications are that the number of zombie properties will keep going up slowly, given that foreclosures are up," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. "But abandoned properties are still nothing more than a dot on the radar screen among the majority of neighborhoods. We are still a long way from the fallout after the Great Recession of the late 2000s, when this was a very real issue in many areas around the U.S." Among the 8,752 residential properties facing possible foreclosure have been vacated by their owners nationwide in Q2 of 2023, that total is up from 8,141 in Q1 of 2023, and from 7,569 in Q2 of 2022. The number of zombie properties has grown quarterly in 29 states, and annually in 36. While most neighborhoods around the United States have little or no zombie foreclosures, the biggest increases from Q1 of 2023 to Q2 of 2023 in states with at least 50 zombie properties were found in: » Texas (zombie properties up 47%, from 114 to 168) » Ohio (zombie properties up 26%, from 846 to 1,070)