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Key Takeaways
- Florida, South Carolina, Illinois, and Delaware top the list of states with the most foreclosure activity, which includes default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, according to a report from real estate data firm ATTOM.
- Foreclosure activity in October rose by nearly 20% year-over-year.
In many states across the U.S., homeowners are struggling to keep up with their housing costs.
As of October, foreclosure activity had risen by 19% when compared with the same month last year. It was 3% higher than September’s levels. That said, foreclosure activity is “below historic highs,” according to a report by real estate data firm ATTOM.
Why This Matters to Homebuyers
Rising foreclosure rates can impact the housing market in several ways, which can potentially increase the number of houses for sale and affect selling prices. Foreclosure rates can also provide insight into the broader health of the housing market, which can help potential buyers plan for the costs and risks associated with the homebuying process.
Some states have been more impacted than others.
In Florida, foreclosure activity—defined as default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions—rose more than 70% in October year-over-year. In South Carolina, foreclosure activity was up by almost 68%, while Illinois saw a nearly 33% rise and Delaware was higher by about 25%.
And while Colorado and Alaska were lower on the list, total foreclosure activity in those states spiked by about 145% and 127%, respectively.
“Foreclosure activity continued its steady upward trend in October, the eighth straight month of year-over-year increases,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement. “The current trend appears to reflect a gradual normalization in foreclosure volumes as market conditions adjust and some homeowners continue to navigate higher housing and borrowing costs.”
Homeowner Pressured by Affordability Challenges
Tampa had the most foreclosure activity of any city in the U.S., with one in every 1,373 housing units in foreclosure. The report noted that this number is a temporary spike because county record keepers have added some backlogged data. Tampa was followed by Jacksonville, Orlando, Riverside, and Cleveland.
“This mix of states across the Southeast, Midwest, and West suggests that rising foreclosure activity is not confined to a single region but instead reflects broader affordability challenges, higher borrowing costs, and ongoing financial strain for some homeowners nationwide,” wrote ATTOM Marketing Manager Megan Hunt in a blog post.
Fast Fact
In a few cities, the amount of foreclosure activity has dropped: Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Louisville, Washington, D.C., and Detroit.
The data comes as housing costs have remained elevated, creating frozen market conditions that have helped keep housing sales near historically low levels. Mortgage rates continue to remain elevated at 6.24% in the latest Freddie Mac data, falling little despite two Federal Reserve interest rate cuts so far this year. Meanwhile, the median price of existing-home sales in September remained elevated at $440,387, according to the latest data from Redfin.
