Atlantic City Has Highest Foreclosure Rate for Four Straight Months
For all the talk about how Atlantic City’s casino closures are really just “right-sizing” the market and how the city has more to offer than just gambling — it still has the highest home foreclosure rate in the country. One in every 257 Atlantic City housing units had a foreclosure filing in October, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. That’s more than four times the national average and the fourth consecutive month where Atlantic City topped the dubious list.
And foreclosures are increasing. In October, foreclosures were up 14 percent from the previous month — driven by a 26 percent monthly spike in foreclosure starts — an increase of 134 percent from a year ago.
It was enough to give New Jersey the second-highest foreclosure rate of any state, with one in every 471 housing units having a foreclosure filing. (It was No. 1 in September but decreased 4 percent in October, allowing Maryland to gain the top spot.) The Garden State had a total of 7,559 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in October, the eighth consecutive month with a year-over-year increase.
Nationwide, there were 115,134 U.S. properties in foreclosure in October, an increase of 6 percent from the previous month — but still down 6 percent from a year ago.
“The 6 percent monthly increase in overall foreclosure activity was caused primarily by a 12 percent monthly jump in foreclosure starts, with 48,605 properties starting the foreclosure process for the first time in October,” according to RealtyTrac. “The October monthly increase was the largest month-over-month increase since August 2011, when there was a 24 percent month-over-month increase.”
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