Banks foreclosed on 17% fewer properties in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, and foreclosure filings in the U.S. were down 4.4% on the same basis. Foreclosure starts were also down 3%, according to ATTOM's Midyear 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. But it's unclear whether this is the start of a trend or a hiatus.

On another positive note, there was a drop in foreclosure activity in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter and an 8% drop compared to the same period in the previous year in 79 major markets. That brought the number of foreclosure filings down to 89,446. In addition, second quarter foreclosure activity was below pre-recession averages in 177 out 224 (79 percent) metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000," the report found.

"The national foreclosure activity total in Q2 2024 was 68 percent below the pre-recession average of 278,912 per quarter from Q1 2006 to Q3 2007," it stated.