Q2 2024 Foreclosure Report: Queens & Brooklyn Claim 70% of City’s Caseload

Key Takeaways:

• NYC foreclosures remain flat year-over-year, tick up only 1%
• Single & two-family homes account for 66% of cases, while condos represent only 13%
• Queens dominates NYC foreclosure market with 44% of citywide filings
• Brooklyn foreclosure activity hovers at one third of pre-COVID levels
• Manhattan still the only borough to return to pre-moratorium figures
• Staten Island first-time filings jump 46% year-over-year, still total just 38 new cases
• The Bronx settles into role as least active NYC foreclosure market
• Laurelton & Brookville’s 11413 zip remains NYC’s foreclosures hotspot with 13 unique cases
• NYC pre-foreclosures rise 26% quarter-over-quarter, Queens drops dampen citywide gains

While U.S. foreclosure cases trended down year-over-year, state-level foreclosure trends have varied widely. Overall, New York has been fairly muted, as opposed to neighboring New Jersey, which is contending with some of the highest rates in the country.

The NYC foreclosure market has also been slow to recover after the foreclosure moratorium of previous years: Q2 2024 foreclosure levels are at just 53% of Q1 2020 totals — the last quarter unaffected by COVID shutdowns. And, year-over-year, NYC foreclosures ticked up a near-negligible 1%.

NYC foreclosure overview

NYC Foreclosures Dominated by Single & Two-Family Homes

NYC’s foreclosure market continued its slower post-COVID pace in the second quarter of the year: The city totaled 366 first-time foreclosures, up a negligible 1% year-over-year (Y-o-Y), accounting for just five more cases than in the second quarter of last year. Additionally, after three consecutive quarters in which citywide cases surpassed 400 first-time filings, Q2 fell below that. In fact, foreclosures were down 14% quarter-over-quarter (Q-o-Q).

Notably, of the city’s 366 first-time foreclosures, 70% were located in Queens and Brooklyn. This concentration pattern also meant that two-thirds of the city’s cases were single and two-family homes, whereas co-ops represented 21% and condos just 13%. Stemming from the same location pattern, the areas with the highest concentrations of foreclosures were also located in these two boroughs — 13 first-time filings in zip 11413 in Queens and 12 new cases in Brooklyn’s 11203.  

Foreclosed properties in Q2 2024 represented a familiar mix, with nearly identical figures compared to Q2 2023.

Queens foreclosures

Queens Claims 44% of NYC Foreclosures as Filings Increase 8% Y-o-Y

Historically, Queens has been the city’s leading borough for foreclosures, mainly due to its property mix, which skews towards lower-density residential. That has remained true for the Queens foreclosure market in the post-moratorium era, as well: Queens claimed 44% of the city’s entire foreclosure caseload in Q2 2024.

Furthermore, the 160 first-time foreclosures filed between April and June of this year also represented an 8% uptick compared to the same period last year. And, although cases were down 16% Q-o-Q, it must be noted that the first quarter’s 191 foreclosures marked the most active quarter in four years.

On a similar note, the borough’s (and city’s) foreclosure epicenter was also more muted compared to Q1. Specifically, Q1 2024 saw 31 first-time foreclosures clustered in Queens’ 11377 zip code. By comparison, Q2 2024’s highest concentration of first-time foreclosures — 13 in total — was all the way across the borough in zip 11413, which mostly covers Laurelton and Brookville.  

Brooklyn foreclosures

Brooklyn Foreclosure Cluster Holds Steady in East Flatbush

While Brooklyn foreclosures have also remained well below pre-moratorium levels, Brooklyn similarly returned to its customary spot behind Queens as the borough with the second-highest number of foreclosures, claiming 26% of the city’s second quarter caseload. More precisely, the 95 first-time foreclosures logged in Brooklyn in Q2 2024 represented just 59% of the activity of Q1 2020. However, those 95 cases also market a slight 4% uptick in incidences over Q2 2023.

At the same time, cases dropped 27% Q-o-Q and, unlike in Queens, the first quarter of the year was not Brooklyn’s post-moratorium peak. Rather, that was reached in Q4 2023 with 199 first-time filings. Meanwhile, in terms of foreclosure clusters, the borough maintained continuity: 11203 East Flatbush logged 12 cases compared to the previous quarter’s 13.

Manhattan foreclosures

Manhattan Still the Only Borough to Return to Pre-COVID Activity Levels

While Queens and Brooklyn (along with the Bronx) saw foreclosures incidences trend up year-over-year, Manhattan and Staten Island went in the opposite direction with Manhattan foreclosures down 17% — a decrease of eight cases. Moreover, Manhattan trended the opposite way in its quarter-over-quarter evolution, as well, going up 18%, whereas Queens and Brooklyn trended down. As a result, Manhattan contributed only 11% of the city’s second-quarter foreclosure total.

In perhaps a sign of the new normal, the 40 first-time foreclosures filed in the second quarter of the year were on par with pre-COVID figures. Even so, Manhattan remained the only borough to return to pre-2020 activity levels. Of the borough’s 40 cases, five were clustered in zip 10003, covering parts of the East Village and Gramercy Park.

Staten Island foreclosures

Staten Island Marks Sharpest Y-o-Y Foreclosure Slowdown

Similar to Manhattan — and in pronounced opposition to Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx — Staten Island foreclosures were also down year-over-year. Specifically, Staten Island cases dropped 31% Y-o-Y — the sharpest decrease across the five boroughs. Notably though, that translated to just 17 fewer cases with the borough’s second-quarter foreclosure total reaching a mere 38 first-time filings. Only the Bronx had a slower second quarter than Staten Island.

Staten Island was also in line with Manhattan’s quarter-over-quarter evolution and in sharp contrast to the other three boroughs, with foreclosures jumping 46% Q-o-Q. At the same time, nearly one in five Staten Island foreclosures were clustered in one zip code, in Mid-Island’s 10312.

Bronx foreclosures

The Bronx Remains NYC’s Least Active Foreclosure Market

Another new normal for NYC’s foreclosure market seems to be the Bronx’s trailing position in foreclosure activity. While Manhattan was the borough with the least active foreclosure sector before COVID, the Bronx has held that position consistently post-moratorium: Q1 2024 was the only exception as its 43 first-time filings surpassed Manhattan’s 34.

Then, in the second quarter of the year, foreclosure dynamics returned to post-moratorium equilibrium as the Bronx had 33 first-time foreclosures — the lowest figure among the five boroughs. Due to the previous quarter’s temporarily inflated numbers, the borough 23% drop in activity looks larger than it truly was.

Finally, year-over-year figures were not affected by the unusually active first quarter, but they were inflated by the borough’s low foreclosure rates. To be precise, the Bronx logged a 74% upsurge in foreclosure activity compared to the same period last year, but that still translated to an increase of just 14 cases Y-o-Y. All in all, the Bronx was the setting for just 9% of NYC’s second-quarter foreclosures.

Like Queens, though, the foreclosure epicenter for the Bronx moved across the borough from zip 10451 in the first quarter of the year to zip 10462 in the second. Here — in the zip that covers parts of Bronxdale, Parkchester and Van Nest — six first-time foreclosures were filed in Q2.

NYC pre-foreclosures

Pre-Foreclosure Filings Climb 26% Q-o-Q Citywide, Queens Decrease Dampens Overall Gains

There were 603 NYC pre-foreclosures in the second quarter of the year, up 26% over the first three months. But at the borough level, trends were sharply divided: On one side stood Queens, where lis pendens dropped 55% Q-o-Q, totaling just 41 cases. On the other was the rest of the city with decidedly upwards trending pre-foreclosure numbers.

Brooklyn remained the city’s pre-foreclosure hotspot — a trend started in mid-2019 — and cases rose 27% Q-o-Q, reaching 356 filings, more than half of all NYC lis pendens. Additionally, Staten Island pre-foreclosures jumped 54% over Q1 figures to reach 134 cases. At the same time, Manhattan and the Bronx posted seemingly dizzying surges in pre-foreclosures at 478% and 82%, respectively.

However, these growth rates actually represented small increases in the effective number of pre-foreclosures. Specifically, Manhattan’s 478% upsurge translated to an increase from nine lis pendens in the first quarter of the year to 52 in the second quarter. Similarly, the Bronx logged 11 unique lis pendens filings in Q1 and just 20 in Q2 and remained the least active pre-foreclosure market in the city.

Top NYC auctions Q2 2024

Top NYC Auctions: Looking Back

With the city’s dampened foreclosure scene in Q2 2024 — at least compared to pre-COVID levels — NYC foreclosure auctions have also stayed relatively modest, with no residential foreclosures sold for more than $5 million.

The second quarter’s most expensive foreclosure fetched just over $4.6 million in late June. The 2,050-square-foot condo in Brooklyn’s Borough Park is part of a small 3-unit free-standing building. The second-priciest foreclosure sold at the block in Q2 was another Brooklyn condo, this time a 2,995-square-foot unit in a Flatbush brownstone.  It was sold at auction in early April for just over $3.5 million. It was originally purchased for just over $1.15 million in April 2018.  

Top 5 Most Expensive Residential Foreclosures Sold in Q2 2024

Rank	Borough	Address	Lien Ammount	Auction Date
1	Brooklyn	2073 57th St. #1	$4,614,818	6/27/2024
2	Brooklyn	14 E 21st St.	$3,512,710	4/11/2024
3	Manhattan	76 Laight St. #5	$3,000,000	6/4/2024
4	Manhattan	15 Ave. B #7	$2,904,537	6/12/2024
5	Queens	118-49 Farmers Blvd.	$2,438,257	4/4/2024
5	Brooklyn	33 Hale Ave.	$2,438,257	4/4/2024

Second quarter figures for commercial foreclosures were nearly halved compared to last year, with 46% fewer cases than during Q2 2023. In fact, commercial foreclosures were down 46% Q-o-Q as well, with only 16 first-time commercial filings.

Of these, the most expensive foreclosure sale was the $344 million retail portion of 229 West 43 St. Formerly owned by Kushner Companies, the Times Square Building’s retail component was auctioned off in late May. The quarter’s second-priciest commercial auction targeted the 150,000-square-foot 635 Madison Ave. office building, with the Lenox Hill property selling for just $99.76 million in mid-May.

Top 5 Most Expensive Commercial Foreclosures Sold in Q2 2024

Rank	Borough	Address	Lien Ammount	Auction Date
1	Manhattan	229 West 43rd St. #RU	$344,079,072	5/29/2024
2	Manhattan	635 Madison Ave.	$99,758,265	5/15/2024
3	Brooklyn	1630 East 15th St.	$66,865,796	6/27/2024
4	Brooklyn	1 Hanson Pl. #RETL	$23,832,503	5/29/2024
5	Manhattan	241 W 14th St.	$13,706,921	6/12/2024

Top upcoming NYC auctions Q3 2024

Top NYC Auctions: Looking Ahead

Looking ahead the city’s priciest foreclosed residential properties headed to the block, the highest lien amount — $5.63 million — is associated with a 2,550-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 3.5-bedroom condo at The Heritage at Trump Place had been under the same ownership since mid-2006. The second-highest lien is tied to a 3,200-square-foot condo at 200 Chambers St., headed to the block in mid-July with a $4.9 million lien.

Top 5 Most Expensive Residential Foreclosures Scheduled for Auction in Q3 2024

Rank	Borough	Address	Lien Ammount	Occurrence	Auction Date
1	Manhattan	240 Riverside Blvd. #10A-T	$5,673,293	rescheduled	7/10/2024
2	Manhattan	200 Chambers St. #26C	$4,900,532	rescheduled	7/17/2024
3	Brooklyn	26 Street Felix St.	$3,205,073	first-time	7/25/2024
4	Staten Island	41 Romer Rd.	$2,307,636	first-time	7/25/2024
5	Brooklyn	154 Huntington St.	$2,044,801	rescheduled	7/18/2024

On the commercial side of foreclosure auctions, the two properties with the highest liens will also hit the block in mid-July and include a 15,000-square-foot property in the Meatpacking District with a $24.68 million lien. The next-highest lien ($10.7 million) is tied to a two-story retail asset in SoHo which was originally purchased for $12 million in January 2008.

Top 5 Most Expensive Commercial Foreclosures Scheduled for Auction in Q3 2024

Rank	Borough	Address	Lien Ammount	Occurrence	Auction Date
1	Manhattan	446 W 14th St.	$24,676,284	first-time	7/17/2024
2	Manhattan	440 Broadway	$10,735,729	resqueduled	7/17/2024
3	Queens	10-71 Cypress Ave.	$9,777,061	first-time	8/2/2024
4	Manhattan	154 Eighth Ave.	$8,462,096	first-time	7/17/2024
5	Brooklyn	181 Troutman St.	$7,225,996	first-time	7/25/2024
5	Brooklyn	303 Stockholm St.	$7,225,996	first-time	7/25/2024

Methodology

Having tracked foreclosure listings for more than a decade, PropertyShark is the only service in New York that guarantees 100% coverage of the local foreclosure market. Because auctions are frequently postponed and/or rescheduled, the statistics referenced in this foreclosure report include only first-time foreclosures in order to avoid over-reporting the number of distressed properties in the city.

This report focuses exclusively on residential properties (single and two-family homes; condos; and co-op units) that were scheduled for auction for the first time in Q2 2024.