Foreclosures were supposed to be a thing of the past. They were a regular occurrence during the housing collapse of the Great Recession. As the market recovered, there was rarely talk of home loan defaults. That has changed recently. Foreclosures have spiked in certain markets, none worse than Atlantic City, once a thriving gambling center. (See which neighborhood has the most vacant homes in America.)
The recently issued April 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from ATTOM, a real estate research company, indicates that foreclosures were started on 32,997 properties during the month. That was one in every 4,234 housing units.
The foreclosure rate varied considerably by state and city. Illinois had the highest foreclosure rate among states, as one in 2,221 properties had a foreclosure filing. It was followed by Maryland (2,283) and New Jersey (2,334).
Among cities with populations above a million, Riverside was highest at one in 2,046, followed by Philadelphia (2,079).
Among all 233 cities covered by the study, Atlantic City was first at one in 1,356, followed by Cleveland (1,580). These cities have been in economic trouble for some time.
Atlantic City’s population has declined since 1930, when it was 66,198. Today that figure is less than 38,000. The spread of legal gambling across the nation has taken away most of its visitors. It was once one of the few American cities with legal gambling.
The story of Cleveland’s fall is more famous. It was once part of the industrial belt, built by the car industry, that stretched from cities near Detroit to Toledo, Cleveland, Akron and Buffalo. Cleveland’s population reached 900,429 in 1930. Currently, it is less than 338,000.
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