Tuesday, February 10, 2015

RealtyTrac Finds One in Four U.S. Foreclosures are “Zombies” Vacated by Homeowner, Not Yet Repossessed By Foreclosing Lender


Daren Blomquist
IRVINE, CA — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its Q1 2015 Zombie Foreclosure Report, which found that as of the end of January 2015, 142,462 homes actively in the foreclosure process had been vacated by the homeowners prior to the bank repossessing the property, representing 25 percent of all active foreclosures.

The total number of zombie foreclosures was down 6 percent from a year ago, but the 25 percent share of total foreclosures represented by zombies was up from 21 percent a year ago.

“While the number of vacated zombie foreclosures is down from a year ago, they represent an increasing share of all foreclosures because they tend to be the problem cases still stuck in the pipeline,” said Daren Blomquist vice president at RealtyTrac.

“Additionally, the states where overall foreclosure activity has been increasing over the past year — counter to the national trend — tend to be states with a longer foreclosure process more susceptible to the zombie problem.”

“In states with a bloated foreclosure process, the increase in zombie foreclosures is actually a good sign that banks and courts are finally moving forward with a resolution on these properties that may have been sitting in foreclosure limbo for years,” Blomquist continued.

“In many markets there is plenty of demand from buyers and investors to snatch up these distressed properties as soon as they become available to purchase.”

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Ginny Walker
949.502.8300, ext. 268

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