See ‘Zombie’ Properties In Ardmore, Merion, Wynnewood

ARDMORE-MERION-WYNNEWOOD, PA —More than 1.52 million U.S. homes — including many in Ardmore, Merion, and Wynnewood — are sitting empty, according to a new report by real estate data site Attom Data Solutions. Among these homes are several thousand so-called "zombies:"

The number of empty houses represents 1.5 percent of all homes in the United States, according to the report. To determine the percentage, Attom Data Solutions used county tax assessor data on more than 98 million single-family homes and condos from the first quarter of 2020, broken down by foreclosure and owner-occupancy status.

In Ardmore, Merion, and Wynnewood, 69 total homes are sitting vacant, according to the report, representing 0.63 percent of homes.

Ardmore has48 vacant homes, Wynnewood 13, and Merion eight.

About 282,800 homes nationwide are in the process of foreclosure, the report says, with about 8,700 — or 3.1 percent — sitting empty as “zombie” foreclosures. The percentage is up from 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The total number of properties in the process of foreclosure in the first quarter of 2020 is down 1.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019.

To create this year’s report, Attom Data Solutions analyzed metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 single-family homes and condos, and counties with at least 50,000 single-family homes and condos.

The top “zombie” foreclosure rates in counties with at least 500 properties in foreclosure include:

• St. Clair County, Illinois (12.3 percent of homes in foreclosure)
• Cuyahoga County, Ohio (12 percent)
• Baltimore City/County, Maryland (10.4 percent)
• Pinellas County Florida (9.8 percent)
• Onondaga County, New York (9.5 percent)

States with 500 or more properties in foreclosure and 100 or more “zombie” foreclosures included:

• Ohio (6.8 percent of homes in foreclosure)
• Indiana (5.1 percent)
• Illinois (4.7 percent)
• Oklahoma (4.5 percent)
• Maryland (4.3 percent)

States with the largest number of “zombie” properties include:

• New York (2,206 properties)
• Florida (1,390)
• Ohio (977)
• Illinois (943)
• Pennsylvania (317)

Read more about the report and methodology behind “zombie” properties and foreclosures online.