New data from ATTOM’s year-end 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report found that the number of foreclosures in the U.S. had more than doubled from 2021. Foreclosure filings were reported on 324,237 properties in 2022, up 115 percent from 2021, but down 34 percent from 2019, before the pandemic put the housing and foreclosure markets in flux.

The 324,237 properties with foreclosure filings in 2022 represented 0.23 percent of all U.S. housing units, up slightly from 0.11 percent in 2021, but down from 0.36 percent in 2019.

“Eighteen months after the end of the government’s foreclosure moratorium, and with less than 5 percent of the 8.4 million borrowers who entered the [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] (CARES) Act forbearance program remaining, foreclosure activity remains significantly lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM, said in a release. “It seems clear that government and mortgage industry efforts during the pandemic, coupled with a strong economy, have helped prevent millions of unnecessary foreclosures.”

States that saw the greatest number of repossessions through foreclosures in 2022 included Illinois (5,518), Michigan (3,669), Pennsylvania (2,741), New York (2,405), and California (2,223).

Those metro statistical areas with a population greater than 1 million that saw the greatest number of repossessions in 2022 included Chicago (3,545), Detroit (2,135); New York (1,656), St. Louis (1,395), and Philadelphia (1,302).

“Unlike foreclosure activity during the Great Recession, the majority of homes in foreclosure are not being repossessed by lenders,” Sharga said. “Our recent homeowner equity report shows that 93 percent of borrowers in foreclosure today have positive equity, which they appear to be leveraging in order to avoid a foreclosure by refinancing their mortgage or selling the property at a profit. It seems likely that this is a trend that will continue in 2023.”