Foreclosure filings in the U.S. were up 185% year over year in May, with Texas registering the third-greatest number of foreclosure starts in the country, according to a new report. 

ATTOM found that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions) totaled 30,881 last month. According to the company’s May 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, one in every 2,000 housing units had a foreclosure filing. 

Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio and Florida had the highest foreclosure rates.

Lenders started the foreclosure process on 22,099 U.S. properties last month. States with the greatest number of foreclosure starts were Florida (2,483), California (2,238), Texas (2,019), Illinois (1,757) and Ohio (1,285). 

“It’s interesting that there were almost ten times more foreclosure starts than foreclosure completions,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “This suggests that financially-distressed borrowers may be finding ways to avoid losing their home to a foreclosure sale.”

Lenders repossessed 2,857 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in May, up 117% year over year. States with the highest number of REOs were Illinois (350), Michigan (249), Pennsylvania (226), New Jersey (175) and Ohio (146). 

“While there’s some volatility in the monthly numbers, foreclosure activity overall is continuing its slow, steady climb back to normal after two years of government intervention led to historically low levels of defaults,” added Sharga. “But with inflation now at a 41-year high, and runaway prices on necessities like food and gasoline, we may see foreclosure activity ramp up a little faster than most forecasts suggest.”