Foreclosures on the Rise

Total foreclosures in September reached 517 – 40 times as many as the low of 13 in April. This is below the February high of 736, but when we look at the number of units (apartments) in those buildings, the pattern is even more alarming: the number of units in buildings facing foreclosure has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, reaching 3,253 units in September versus 3,196 in February. 

Additional Findings:

• Most filings are in small homes, but there are more households in large buildings facing foreclosure.
• There were 237 1-3 family buildings containing 716 households that received foreclosure filings in September. These owners are at risk of aggressive solicitation, pressure to sell their homes on unfavorable terms, and outright fraud and deed theft. And when speculators come in, tenants in those small homes are at risk of displacement. For more on the risk of deed fraud and deed theft in small homes, see our testimony from yesterday's New York City Council hearing.
• In September, there were filings in only 4 large buildings of over 100 units, but there are 1,172 units in those buildings – 1,172 households at risk of a new, predatory owner coming in and displacing tenants. There were 79 additional filings in buildings of 6 to 100 units, containing 1,240 households. We need to make sure that speculators are not swooping in to buy up larger buildings at risk of foreclosure; these buildings should be transferred to responsible community-based ownership by either non-profit organizations, community land trusts, or tenants themselves.

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How Did We Get This Data?

We used ANHD's DAP Portal Custom Search to identify all properties in New York City that received at least 1 foreclosure filing each month from January through September. In order to view foreclosures data, you must apply for an account, which we grant to our members, local elected officials, and partners who will use the data in the fight against displacement.