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| Daren Blomquist |
IRVINE, CA — RealtyTrac®
(www.realtytrac.com), the nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing
data, released its Q3 2015 U.S. Zombie Foreclosure and Vacant Property Report,
which shows 20,050 U.S. residential properties in the foreclosure process — but
not yet repossessed by the foreclosing lender — were vacant “zombie” homes as
of the end of the third quarter of 2015, down 27 percent from the previous
quarter and down 43 percent from a year ago.
Vacant residential
properties in the foreclosure process accounted for 1.3 percent of all vacant
U.S. residential properties, with bank-owned homes (REO) accounting for another
1.9 percent of all vacant 1 properties as of the end of the third quarter.
The report shows a total
of 1.5 million (1,500,456) vacant U.S. residential properties, 1.8 percent of
all 84.7 million U.S. residential properties. Among the 1.5 million vacant residential
properties, 36.5 percent have at least one open loan and 6.2 percent are
seriously underwater, meaning the combined value of loans secured by the
property is at least 25 percent more than the estimated market value of the
property.
“The overall inventory of
homes in the foreclosure process has dropped 36 percent over the past year so
it’s not too surprising to see a similarly dramatic drop in vacant zombie
foreclosures,” said Daren Blomquist,
vice president at RealtyTrac.
“What is surprising is there
are so many vacant homes where the homeowners do not appear to be in financial
distress — with only 3 percent in foreclosure or bank owned, and only 6 percent
that are underwater.
“More than 63 percent of
these vacant homes are not even encumbered by a loan, owned free and clear by
the owner. The fact that the homeowners are not selling given the recovering
real estate market in most areas indicates that many of these properties are in
poor condition and in neighborhoods that have been left behind by the housing
recovery.”
Markets with most vacant ‘zombie foreclosures’
States with the most
vacant “zombie” foreclosures were New Jersey (3,997), Florida (3,512), New York
(3,365), Illinois (1,187) and Ohio (1,028).
States with the highest
share of vacant “zombie” foreclosures as a percentage of total vacant
properties were New Jersey (9.4 percent), New York (8.2 percent), Nevada (2.7
percent), Massachusetts (2.5 percent), and Illinois (2.1 percent).
For a
complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:
Ginny Walker
949.502.8300, ext. 268
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