Eliza Theiss Key Takeaways:
- NYC first-time foreclosures rise 81% year-over-year, total 361 cases in Q2
- Lis pendens trend down in four boroughs, but Staten Island spike in cases skews citywide evolution to positive caseload growth
- Staten Island pre-foreclosures surge 222% year-over-year
- Q2 foreclosures in Manhattan exceed pre-pandemic figures with 500% year-over-year surge
- Queens claims more foreclosures (148) than next two most-active boroughs combined
- Only Brooklyn logs quarter-over-quarter foreclosure growth
- The Bronx reaches new historic low for pre-foreclosure with just 10 cases
- Queens’ St. Albans closes Q2 as city’s foreclosure epicenter with 14 filings
Although Q2 2023 closed with 81% more foreclosures than Q2 2022, foreclosure cases in NYC seemingly plateaued quarter-over-quarter. That was even after Q1 2023 closed as the most active period for the New York City foreclosure market in 11 quarters. In fact, since the lifting of the foreclosure moratorium, filings have steadily increased throughout the five boroughs, with only one minor quarter-over-quarter downtick of just seven cases in Q4 2022.
Similarly, the difference between the first and second quarters of this year was just 12 cases in the entirety of NYC. So, for now, it remains to be seen whether the second quarter’s 3% downtick is part of a wider trend of stabilization or decreases — or if it’s simply a seasonal glitch.
Table of Contents
4 of the 5 Boroughs Mark Weakest Quarter for Lis Pendens Since Early 2020
Foreclosure filings trended down in three of the five boroughs quarter-over-quarter, while cases rose in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Conversely, lis pendens trended sharply down in every borough except Staten Island, where pre-foreclosure filings more than doubled. In fact, Q2 2023 was the weakest quarter for residential lis pendens in four of the five boroughs since the onset of the pandemic. While this resulted in a 20% quarter-over-quarter decrease in lis pendens, NYC pre-foreclosures were nevertheless up 2% compared to Q2 2022.
In the case of foreclosures, year-over-year figures still showed a marked increase in filings with Q2 2023 logging 81% more first-time foreclosures than the same period last year. In fact, both Brooklyn and Manhattan posted three-figure surges in foreclosure activity. However, it must be noted that these spectacular increases in terms of percentages actually translated into gains of no more than 74 cases (namely, in Brooklyn).
Manhattan Foreclosures Surge 500% Year-Over-Year, Going From 8 to 48 Cases
As mentioned, Manhattan was one of two boroughs where foreclosure cases surged by three-figure percentages year-over-year: Specifically, Manhattan foreclosures were up 500% year-over-year. That said, it’s important to note that, in terms of actual case numbers, that percentual gain represented an increase from eight cases in Q2 2022 to 48 cases in the second quarter of this year. Of these, more than one-quarter were filed in zip 10022 in Central Midtown.
Furthermore, when comparing these numbers to pre-pandemic figures in Manhattan, Q2 2023 was nearly twice as active as Q2 2019 (48 first-time cases versus 26 first-time filings, respectively). Thus far, Manhattan is the only borough where foreclosure activity equaled or surpassed pre-pandemic figures.
Meanwhile, in terms of lis pendens, Q2 2023 totaled 54 cases in Manhattan, which was less than half of the total of Q2 2019. Returning to more recent figures and trends, Manhattan lis pendens were in line with citywide trends as the second quarter logged fewer cases both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. More precisely, Manhattan lis pendens marked a 14% year-over-year decrease.
Queens Home to More Foreclosures Than Brooklyn & Staten Island Combined
As usual, Queens was the city’s most active foreclosure market: It logged 148 first-time filings in Q2 2023 for a 19% year-over-year increase, which represented a gain of 24 first-time filings. As a matter of fact, Queens foreclosures in Q2 2023 surpassed Brooklyn and Staten Island (the next two most-active markets) put together.
Queens was also the setting, as per usual, for the highest concentration of foreclosures in one zip code. Specifically, there were 14 unique filings in zip 11412 in St. Albans which, along with the neighborhood of Jamaica, are recurrently the setting of the city’s most concentrated foreclosure cluster.
Likewise, in terms of pre-foreclosures, Queens marked a 13% year-over-year decrease for a total of 200 cases — 46% fewer than in the first quarter of 2023. Not only that, but the second quarter’s 200 lis pendens total was also the lowest volume since the second quarter of 2020, when much of the city was shuttered due to the onset of COVID-19. What’s more, with the exception of the first two quarters of 2020, Q2 2023 saw the lowest number of lis pendens in Queens in at least 30 quarters.
Brooklyn Closes Most Active Foreclosure Quarter Since Q1 2020
As has been the case since mid-2019, Brooklyn was, yet again, the city’s epicenter for lis pendens filings, totaling 250 cases in the second quarter of this year. While Brooklyn was the only borough to log a quarter-over-quarter increase in pre-foreclosures in Q1 2023, that trend reversed in Q2 to a 59% quarter-over-quarter drop. In addition, Brooklyn pre-foreclosures were also halved year-over-year.
Conversely, Brooklyn foreclosures were on the rise, boasting a jaw-dropping 435% year-over-year surge — a percentual growth surpassed only by Manhattan. However, just like in Manhattan, it must be noted that that figure represented a difference of several dozen cases and not hundreds. Specifically, Brooklyn’s 435% year-over-year surge translated to 74 additional cases, with Q2 2023 totaling 91 first-time filings. That also meant that Q2 2023 was the most active quarter for foreclosures in Brooklyn since Q1 2020.
At the same time, Brooklyn also logged a 10% quarter-over-quarter increase in its number of foreclosures. (The only other borough to do was Manhattan.) Yet another similarity between the two boroughs was that their respective foreclosure hotspots logged 12 cases in just one zip code, each. For Brooklyn, that hotspot was located in zip 11203 in East Flatbush.
The Bronx Remains Least Active Foreclosure & Pre-Foreclosure Market in NYC
As has been the case since early 2018, the Bronx remained the least active foreclosure market in the city. In the second quarter of 2023, that meant a total of 19 first-time foreclosure filings in the entire borough. For comparison, during the same period last year, no new cases were filed.
And, although the Bronx was in line with citywide trends as far as year-over-year increases in foreclosure cases, first-time foreclosures in the Bronx dropped 24% quarter-over-quarter — the sharpest decrease among the five boroughs.
As expected, the borough’s muted foreclosure activity also meant that its foreclosure hotspot had the lowest number of cases among the five boroughs: The Bronx had only seven first-time foreclosures in Q2, all of which were concentrated in zip 10463 in the neighborhood of Kingsbridge.
Of course, that trend was historically typical for the borough prior to the pandemic, as well. This stems, in large part, from the fact that homeownership rates in the Bronx are the lowest in the city at around 20%.
Similarly, Bronx pre-foreclosures were also muted and continued to further decline, dropping 86% year-over-year and 41% quarter-over-quarter to just 10 filings. That also marked the absolute lowest number of foreclosures in the borough (with the exception of Q2 2020, when stay-at-home orders were in effect). As a result, Q2 2023 dethroned Q1 2023 to become the quarter with the lowest pre-foreclosure activity in the borough’s history with just 10 cases.
Staten Island Pre-Foreclosures Surge 222% Year-Over-Year, Cancel Out Drops in the Four Boroughs
Lastly, Staten Island was firmly in line with citywide foreclosure trends, while simultaneously completely opposed in terms of pre-foreclosures.
Namely, while pre-foreclosures trended down in the other four boroughs, Staten Island lis pendens actually surged. Specifically, there were 544 cases filed in Q2 of this year compared to 252 in the previous quarter, resulting in a 116% quarter-over-quarter increase. But, year-over-year gains were even more impressive as Q2 2022 totaled 169 filings, resulting in a 222% year-over-year increase.
In fact, the surge in Staten Island pre-foreclosures was sharp enough to change citywide trends: So, while the other four boroughs posted double-digit quarter-over-quarter drops, Staten Island pre-foreclosure activity skewed NYC’s overall change to a 20% quarter-over-quarter drop.
The borough also skewed the city’s year-over-year trends by canceling out the decidedly negative gains of the four other boroughs to bring the citywide year-over-year pre-foreclosure change to +2%. In fact, without Staten Island’s influence, the city would have logged a 52% drop quarter-over-quarter and 41% decrease year-over-year.
Conversely, foreclosures in Staten Island were down 4% quarter-over-quarter and 10% year-over-year to total 55 first-time filings in Q2 2023. While the number of foreclosures in the second quarter of this year was mostly in line with post-moratorium foreclosure activity in Staten Island, the borough’s latest quarterly total was still about one-third of what it was in Q2 2019.
Also typical for the borough was its foreclosure hotspot, which is often located in zip 10304 in the neighborhood of Mid-Island: It logged eight new foreclosures in Q2 2023.
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 report include only first-time foreclosures in order to avoid over-reporting the number of distressed properties in the city.
Separately, we also report on lis pendens (pre-foreclosure) filings, which are legal notices that mark the beginning of the foreclosure process.
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 2023.
Pre-foreclosure data refers to unique properties that had at least one lis pendens filing in Q2 2023, which may be a first-time filing or a refiling. The same building class restrictions apply, excluding co-ops. If more than three units were referenced on the same lis pendens filing, they were excluded in order to avoid accounting for entire buildings.
