:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2251955573-0bc0a24336f840a9b25f66890d4eb668.jpg "Which States Are Seeing the Highest Foreclosure Activity Right Now")
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Key Takeaways
- Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and Florida top the list of states with the most foreclosure activity. (This includes default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, according to a report from real estate data firm ATTOM.)
- Foreclosure activity in November rose by over 20% year-over-year.
In many states across the U.S., homeowners are struggling to keep up with their housing costs.
As of November, foreclosure activity had risen by 21% when compared with the same month last year. It was 3% lower than October’s levels. That said, “overall volumes remain well below historical 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 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 Delaware, foreclosure activity—defined as default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions—rose nearly 159% in November year-over-year. In Nevada, foreclosure activity was up by almost 26%, while New Jersey saw an over 48% rise and Florida was higher by about 21%.
“November marks the ninth straight month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity, underscoring a trend that has steadily taken shape throughout 2025,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement. “The data suggests the market is still normalizing as some homeowners contend with higher housing costs and shifting economic pressures.”
Homeowners Pressured by Affordability Challenges
Philadelphia had the most foreclosure activity of any city in the U.S., with one in every 1,511 housing units in foreclosure. The report noted that this number is a temporary spike because county record keepers have added some backlogged data. Philadelphia was followed by Las Vegas, Cleveland, Orlando, and Tampa.
“This geographic spread, from the Mid-Atlantic to the Southeast and West, suggests that foreclosure activity is being shaped by nationwide affordability hurdles, persistent borrowing costs, and localized market pressures rather than a single regional driver,” wrote ATTOM Marketing Manager Megan Hunt in a blog post.
Fast Fact
In some cities, the amount of foreclosure activity has dropped—for example, in Boston, Miami, Sacramento, Riverside, and Denver.
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 6.18% in the latest Freddie Mac data, falling little despite three Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. Meanwhile, the median price of existing-home sales in November remained elevated at $433,175, according to the latest data from Redfin.
