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New
Jersey's foreclosure rate was 0.98 percent of housing units, or
one in every 102 homes, the data showed. That was more than any
other state and more than double the national rate of 0.40
percent, or one in 249 homes.
Atlantic County, home to New Jersey's cash-strapped gambling hub
Atlantic City, again had the highest foreclosure rate of any
major U.S. metropolitan area at 1.8 percent.
Four of Atlantic City's casinos closed in 2014 and remain
shuttered, mostly because of gambling competition in neighboring
states, though one, the Showboat, reopened this month as a hotel
only.
Atlantic City has topped the national list of metro area
foreclosures for at least a year.
Trenton, the state capital, was second with 1.31 percent during
the first half of 2016.
Still, New Jersey was mostly in line with the national downward
trend, which saw a 20 percent drop in foreclosure filings
compared with the prior six months and an 11 percent decline
over the first half of 2015 overall.
There were outliers, with 19 states posting year-over-year
increases in the first half, including Massachusetts,
Connecticut and Virginia.
Five big cities, all in the East, also had higher rates: Boston,
Philadelphia, New York, Washington and Baltimore.
"Although there are some local outliers, the downward
foreclosure trend continued in the first half of 2016 in most
markets nationwide," Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac senior vice
president, said in a statement.
"While U.S. foreclosure activity is still above its
pre-recession levels, many of the states hit hardest by the
housing crisis have now dropped below pre-recession foreclosure
activity levels," he said.
(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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