For the second year in a row, New Jersey led the nation in home foreclosures in 2016, even as overall activity ebbed across the U.S.

The culprits: a significant backlog in cases stemming from New Jersey’s cumbersome foreclosure process and the state’s weak economy, housing experts said.

For the year, 1.86% of homes in New Jersey were in foreclosure, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions. That was slightly lower than the 1.91% in 2015.

The national average was 0.70%, said Daren Blomquist, a senior vice president at ATTOM. That is the lowest rate since 2006. The foreclosure rate peaked at 2.23% in 2010, just after the recession ended.

The lag reflects laws in states like New Jersey and New York that require time-consuming court proceedings before a foreclosed home can be auctioned off.