Arkansas foreclosure filings more than doubled in 2022
by January 24, 2023 7:51 am 1,468 views
Foreclosure activity in Arkansas more than doubled in 2022 from a year earlier, but remains well below pre-pandemic levels, a new report found.
An analysis by California-based Attom Data Solutions, which tracks national housing and foreclosure data, showed 1,964 properties with foreclosures in 2022 in Arkansas. That’s up 125.75% from an all-time low of 870 properties in 2021 and ranked No. 30 among U.S. states.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 2,911 Arkansas properties in 2019 and 3,613 in 2018.
According to Attom’s historical data, there were 19,757 Arkansas filings at the height of the foreclosure market in 2010.
Nationally, Attom reported foreclosure filings on 324,237 U.S. properties in 2022, up 115% from 2021 but down 34% from 2019, before the pandemic shook up the market.
“Eighteen months after the end of the government’s foreclosure moratorium, and with less than 5% of the 8.4 million borrowers who entered the CARES Act forbearance program remaining, foreclosure activity remains significantly lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at Attom. “It seems clear that government and mortgage industry efforts during the pandemic, coupled with a strong economy, have helped prevent millions of unnecessary foreclosures.”
A home goes into foreclosure when the owner can’t pay the mortgage. Banks begin the foreclosure process by filing a notice of a foreclosure hearing to decide whether a home is sold at auction. A home is considered “distressed” when it’s under any stage of foreclosure.
Among 224 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, Northwest Arkansas had one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the country. Attom reported that the 166 properties with foreclosure filings in 2022 represented just 0.07% of all regional housing units. That ranks Northwest Arkansas No. 211 out of the top 224 metro regions.
Other Arkansas metros in the report were central Arkansas (653 filings; 0.19%; No. 117) and Fort Smith (143 filings; 0.12%; No. 189).