The worst inflation in 40 years has led to cascading effects, with consumer sentiment declining and gross domestic product decreasing in the first quarter of this year. While the Federal Reserve has been raising rates to tame inflation, this has led to higher mortgage rates. As a result, the U.S. housing market finally appears to be cooling after white-hot demand in the past two years sent prices skyward.
So far, the number of foreclosure filings in the first six months of the year is still slightly lower than it was in the same period in 2020. But these filings are up 153% from the first half of last year, according to property data provider Attom. Home foreclosure filings include default notices, bank repossessions, and scheduled auctions and are used as a measure to gauge the health of housing markets at local, state, and national levels.
To determine the 30 counties with the most foreclosures so far this year, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from Attom. Counties are ranked by their foreclosure rate — the number of foreclosures per housing units. All data in the story came from Attom. In total, 1,707 counties with data were evaluated.
Among the 30 counties with the highest foreclosure rates, nine are in New Jersey and seven are in Illinois. Cook County, which includes Chicago, is the largest county on this list by population and has the 20th highest foreclosure rate at one for every 312 housing units of the nearly 2.3 million in the county. The smallest county by population is Jones, South Carolina, with fewer than 10,000 residents and 4,635 housing units.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which includes Cleveland, is the only other county on the list with a population that tops 1 million. It has the second-highest foreclosure rate after Cumberland, New Jersey.
Ten counties on this list have median home values above $200,000, and three of them are among the top 10 for the highest foreclosure rates: New Jersey’s Sussex and Gloucester counties and Will County, Illinois. Warren, New Jersey, has the lowest median home value among these 30 counties, at $64,600, but it has the 10th highest foreclosure rate. (Median home values in some parts of the U.S. are considerably higher. Here is the American city with the most 1 million homes.)
Overall, ATTOM warns that weak housing markets are emerging in counties around Chicago, as well as large housing markets in New Jersey and California. (Here are 15 cities with the most overpriced housing markets.)
Here are the counties with the most foreclosures so far this year.
30. Winnebago, Illinois
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 328 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 381 – #91 highest
> Housing units: 124,983- #238 highest
> Median home value: $121,400 – #1,049 highest
> Population: 285,350
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29. Osceola, Florida
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 324 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 478 – #69 highest
> Housing units: 154,680- #195 highest
> Median home value: $221,600 – #345 highest
> Population: 388,656
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28. Mchenry, Illinois
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 324 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 369 – #97 highest
> Housing units: 119,708- #250 highest
> Median home value: $234,000 – #307 highest
> Population: 310,229
27. Lake, California
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 323 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 106 – #310 highest
> Housing units: 34,220- #734 highest
> Median home value: $238,000 – #297 highest
> Population: 68,163
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26. Lake, Indiana
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 322 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 667 – #39 highest
> Housing units: 214,775- #134 highest
> Median home value: $238,000 – #296 highest
> Population: 498,700
25. Onslow, North Carolina
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 321 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 262 – #137 highest
> Housing units: 84,180- #351 highest
> Median home value: $162,400 – #646 highest
> Population: 204,576
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24. Liberty, Texas
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 319 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 104 – #319 highest
> Housing units: 33,182- #752 highest
> Median home value: $83,700 – #1,537 highest
> Population: 91,628
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23. Gates, North Carolina
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 318 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 15 – #990 highest
> Housing units: 4,767- #1,642 highest
> Median home value: $142,400 – #827 highest
> Population: 10,478
22. Grant, Indiana
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 317 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 94 – #342 highest
> Housing units: 29,810- #808 highest
> Median home value: $122,600 – #1,025 highest
> Population: 66,674
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21. Saint Clair, Illinois
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 317 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 361 – #100 highest
> Housing units: 114,595- #260 highest
> Median home value: $165,900 – #609 highest
> Population: 257,400
20. Cook, Illinois
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 312 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 7,265 – #01 highest
> Housing units: 2,264,966- #02 highest
> Median home value: $93,400 – #1,380 highest
> Population: 5,275,541
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19. Campbell, Wyoming
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 310 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 64 – #454 highest
> Housing units: 19,816- #1,054 highest
> Median home value: $173,400 – #542 highest
> Population: 47,026
18. Atlantic, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 303 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 436 – #78 highest
> Housing units: 132,038- #229 highest
> Median home value: $216,600 – #365 highest
> Population: 274,534
17. Ocean, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 298 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 988 – #19 highest
> Housing units: 294,429- #94 highest
> Median home value: $286,700 – #195 highest
> Population: 637,229
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16. Lexington, South Carolina
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 297 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 430 – #80 highest
> Housing units: 127,887- #234 highest
> Median home value: $163,200 – #642 highest
> Population: 293,991
15. Dorchester, South Carolina
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 294 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 220 – #163 highest
> Housing units: 64,608- #441 highest
> Median home value: $187,300 – #482 highest
> Population: 161,540
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14. Madison, Illinois
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 294 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 403 – #85 highest
> Housing units: 118,579- #254 highest
> Median home value: $190,200 – #462 highest
> Population: 265,859
13. Sullivan, Indiana
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 293 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 30 – #697 highest
> Housing units: 8,788- #1,506 highest
> Median home value: $89,400 – #1,443 highest
> Population: 20,817
12. Jones, North Carolina
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 290 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 16 – #962 highest
> Housing units: 4,635- #1,648 highest
> Median home value: $149,700 – #751 highest
> Population: 9,172
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11. Kendall, Illinois
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 290 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 155 – #221 highest
> Housing units: 45,008- #595 highest
> Median home value: $243,700 – #275 highest
> Population: 131,869
10. Warren, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 283 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 164 – #213 highest
> Housing units: 46,457- #579 highest
> Median home value: $64,600 – #1,634 highest
> Population: 109,632
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9. Huron, Ohio
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 280 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 91 – #354 highest
> Housing units: 25,499- #895 highest
> Median home value: $109,000 – #1,190 highest
> Population: 58,565
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8. WILL, Illinois
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 273 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 917 – #22 highest
> Housing units: 250,678- #115 highest
> Median home value: $239,400 – #290 highest
> Population: 696,355
7. Sussex, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 273 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 230 – #151 highest
> Housing units: 62,709- #449 highest
> Median home value: $269,700 – #215 highest
> Population: 144,221
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6. Gloucester, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 258 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 454 – #73 highest
> Housing units: 117,208- #257 highest
> Median home value: $224,300 – #339 highest
> Population: 302,294
5. Camden, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 253 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 840 – #27 highest
> Housing units: 212,759- #136 highest
> Median home value: $171,400 – #565 highest
> Population: 523,485
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4. Burlington, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 238 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 778 – #31 highest
> Housing units: 184,775- #163 highest
> Median home value: $160,900 – #664 highest
> Population: 461,860
3. Salem, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 224 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 124 – #273 highest
> Housing units: 27,763- #855 highest
> Median home value: $185,700 – #486 highest
> Population: 64,837
2. Cuyahoga, Ohio
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 199 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 3,100 – #03 highest
> Housing units: 615,825- #25 highest
> Median home value: $137,800 – #876 highest
> Population: 1,264,817
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1. Cumberland, New Jersey
> Foreclosure rate: 1 in every 197 housing units
> Properties with foreclosure filing: 290 – #124 highest
> Housing units: 57,119- #485 highest
> Median home value: $106,300 – #1,228 highest
> Population: 154,152
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