The U.S. home foreclosure rate is in decline as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the 2008 recession, and other indicators of the state of credit show that overall, consumers are doing pretty well in the credit spectrum.
But that's not the case in some states. Overall, U.S. residential home foreclosures fell 27% in 2017, down to 676,525—the lowest figures since 2005, according to Attom Data Solutions.
The overall mortgage debt increased 3% from 2016, and is up close to 10% from 2007. However, mortgage delinquency rates have not followed that trend.
On average, one in every 1,776 U.S homes (and 575,560 overall), is currently in foreclosure according to RealtyTrac. Yet some states, like South Dakota, North Dakota and Vermont, have much lower home foreclosure ratios (in South Dakota, for example, only one in every 11,082 homes were in foreclosure in 2017) than the states on the "most foreclosures" list.
On the higher home foreclosure front, it's primarily coastal states, and not America's bread basket, that are experiencing higher foreclosure rates. Here's a closer look at the 10 U.S. states that still continue to struggle with home foreclosures—and in some cases, even seeing rising foreclosure rates.
10. New Mexico
One of out every 1,386 homes in New Mexico are in foreclosure as of March 2018, according to RealtyTrac, as the three major foreclosure categories—pre-foreclosure, auctions, and bank-owned home repossessions are up significantly.
Pre-foreclosures were up 17.7% for the first quarter of 2018, while bank-owned repossessions were up almost double that figure, at 34.9%.
9. Nevada
Nevada is another state that's seeing an uptick in foreclosures, even as most U.S. states are seeing a decline. Consider Las Vegas, which recorded roughly 500 home foreclosures per month in the fourth quarter of 2017, up from an average of only 32 foreclosures per month in the third quarter of 2017, according to Attom.
A state government law that changed the way Nevada handles foreclosures seems to have stalled foreclosures as the law rolled out, but home repossessions are back up again as banks and lenders have a better grip on how the new legislation works.
8. Ohio
One in every 1,289 homes is in foreclosure in Ohio as of March 2018, according to RealtyTrac. Ohio's inclusion on the "top foreclosure states list" could be due to a skyrocketing one-month bank-owned foreclosure rate of 77.3% from the middle of February to the middle of March, which could well be a statistical outlier, given that actual bank-owned residential property closings fell 3.5% for the prior year.
7. South Carolina
One in every 1,120 homes in the South Carolina are in some form of foreclosure in the first three months of 2018, with 59.1% of those homes in the "pre-foreclosure" category, according to RealtyTrac.
Yet auction, pre-foreclosure, and bank-owned foreclosure categories are all up over 20% in the first three months of 2018, suggesting that the Palmetto State still has major work to do to clear its foreclosed property problems.
6. Florida
Florida has a statewide home foreclosure rate of 0.72%, which doesn't seem too steep a figure given the Sunshine State's propensity to attract transient homeowners, who come and go seemingly on the fly, and for various financial reasons.
While stuck firmly on the "top 10" U.S. states with most foreclosure list, Florida does seem to be on the comeback trail, with 24,215 foreclosures filed in 2017, compared to 43,772 in 2016, according to Attom.
5. Connecticut
As of March 2018, Connecticut had one out of every 1,468 homes in foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac, clocking in at a 0.78% foreclosure rate. The foreclosure situation in Connecticut seemed to be improving, as bank-owned foreclosures fell 35.8% from March 2016 to March 2017. But in the last year, bank home foreclosures are rose 6.3%, greasing the skids for the Nutmeg State to make this "top 10" list.
4. Illinois
Illinois's 0.86% home foreclosure rate is also one of the highest in the country. The Land of Lincoln is suffering an exodus of residents leaving the state, mostly due to its onerous tax burden, especially in Chicago.
From July 2016 to July 2017, Illinois lost just over 33,000 residents, the most in the U.S. That only makes it tougher for the state to deal with residents whose homes are in foreclosure—and want out of the state.
3. Maryland
Home foreclosure rates stood at 0.95% in Maryland at the end of 2017, and RealtyTrac has the state's foreclosure ration at one in every 1,069 homes. At a 0.09% foreclosure rate by unit, Maryland is well above the national average of 0.06%.
2. Delaware
New Jersey's neighbor to the south, Delaware, is next in line on the "states with most foreclosures" list. Delaware saw a 16% rise in foreclosures last year, according to Attom, and had a 1.13% foreclosure rate.
1. New Jersey
New Jersey takes the cake as the state with the highest rate of foreclosures, with one in 605 properties in some stage of foreclosure in 2018, according to RealtyTrac.
That's 1.61% of housing units with a foreclosure filing in the Garden State. Bank repossessions hit an 11-year high in 2017, against a national average of an 11-year low repossession level at an 11-year low, on average across the U.S.