Hollywood actor Johnny Depp recently overcame a financial obstacle that many Americans encounter yet find difficult to get past. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor got a $10 million loan last year to save his two West Hollywood properties from going into default.

Unlike Depp, a lot of homeowners don't have the money to save their houses and might give them up if they can't make the mortgage payments. When owners of pre foreclosed properties leave them vacant, it's referred to as zombie foreclosure.

The second quarter of 2024 saw a comparable number of vacant residential properties in the United States—roughly 1.3 million—according to ATTOM's Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report. To 6,924 properties, zombie foreclosures fell by 20.6% from the year before. At one in every 14,724 residences in the United States, these zombie properties now make up the lowest percentage since early 2021—down from one in 13,905 the prior quarter and one in 11,577 a year earlier.

"Despite concerns of a foreclosure boom post-moratorium, the opposite has occurred," ATTOM CEO Rob Barber stated. "Foreclosure-abandoned houses are getting less common. Even while there are indications that the protracted housing market boom is slowing down, which could result in lower equity and more foreclosures, zombie properties are still not likely to become much more common."

The fall in zombie residences comes after a year of rising house prices. Early in 2024, the median home value in the United States decreased by 4% to $330,000, yet it is still 3% higher than it was a year ago. The more than twofold increase in property values since 2012 has greatly increased household wealth. over 95% of homeowners with mortgages have gained equity, and over 50% owing less than half the appraised worth of their homes.