U.S. Commercial Real Estate Foreclosures Up 97% From Last Year, 17% Month-to-Month
Spike signals revitalization, Attom report shows
By Greg Cornfield February 23, 2024 4:00 pm
reprints
A new report from real estate data firm ATTOM shows a significant annual jump in U.S. commercial foreclosures in January.
The Southern California-based company counts the number of commercial properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into its database each month, and found 635 in January 2024. That’s 97 percent more than the same month last year and 17 percent more than December 2023.
The report put an optimistic — even bullish — spin on the jumps.
“The 97 percent year-over-year increase signals a revitalizing market that is navigating through the long-term economic shifts following a global event, adapting with resilience and strategic adjustments to new commercial realities,” Attom’s report reads.
It’s a significant increase since the pandemic outbreak, which saw a low of 141 foreclosures in May 2020 thanks to pandemic responses and financial aid. By comparison, there were 740 commercial foreclosures nationwide in January 2014 when the country was coming out of the Great Financial Crisis, according to Attom. The number spiked on a monthly basis with 889 in October 2014.
“This uptick signifies not just a return to pre-pandemic activity levels but also underscores the ongoing adjustments within the commercial real estate sector as it navigates through a landscape transformed by evolving business practices and consumer behaviors,” Rob Barber, CEO at Attom, said in a statement.
California had the highest number of commercial foreclosures for January at 181, which is a 72 percent increase from December and a 174 percent increase from last year.
New York had 59 commercial foreclosures in January for a 12 percent decrease from a year ago. But New Jersey saw a 38 percent increase from last month and a 157 percent increase from last year, according to Attom.
Texas saw a 17 percent increase from in January and a 143 percent increase from last year, while Florida’s number of commercial foreclosures increased 18 percent from December and 42 percent from last year.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
