Foreclosures are up 14% in the past year, ATTOM says

Foreclosure activity continued its upward trend in April, with a total of 36,033 properties receiving default notices, scheduled for auction or repossessed, according to the latest data from real estate analytics firm ATTOM.

The figure represents a 0.4% increase from March and a 13.9% jump compared to April 2024.

“April’s foreclosure activity continued its gradual climb, with both starts and completions up annually,” Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, said in a statement. “While volumes remain below historical norms, the year-over-year increases may suggest that some homeowners are beginning to feel the effects of persistent economic pressures.”

Foreclosure starts and completions tick up

Lenders initiated foreclosures on 25,265 properties in April, up 0.8% from March and 16.1% from the same time last year.

Texas led all states in new filings with 3,280 foreclosure starts, followed by Florida (2,810), California (2,501), Illinois (1,313), and Ohio (1,135).

At the metro level, Houston had the most foreclosure starts during the month with 1,202 filings, followed by Chicago (1,139), New York (1,099), Miami (739) and Atlanta (665).

Completed foreclosures — or REOs — totaled 3,580 in April, marking a 2.9% decrease from the previous month but a 23.3% increase year over year. It was the second consecutive month of annualized growth in REO activity.

Some states bucked the national trend. Among states with at least 50 REOs, South Carolina posted a 45.9% drop in completed foreclosures compared to last year. Maryland (-42.5%), Ohio (-22.4%), New York (-17.3%) and New Jersey (-11.5%) also saw double-digit declines.

The cities with the highest number of REOs in April included Chicago (220), Atlanta (213), New York (143), Houston (114) and Philadelphia (86).

Southern states have highest foreclosure rates

Nationally, one in every 3,950 housing units had a foreclosure filing in April. The highest state-level rates were in South Carolina (1 in 2,311), Illinois (1 in 2,405), Florida (1 in 2,526), Delaware (1 in 2,617) and Nevada (1 in 2,944).

Smaller metros posted some of the highest foreclosure rates.

Warner Robins, Georgia, led all U.S. metros as one in every 1,512 housing units were in foreclosure. Other high-rate areas included Killeen-Temple, Texas (1 in 1,590); Chico, California (1 in 1,720); Ocala, Florida (1 in 1,731); and Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida (1 in 1,753).

Among metros with populations of 1 million or more, Cleveland had the highest foreclosure rate (1 in 1,964). It was followed by Chicago (1 in 2,076); Riverside, California (1 in 2,106); Houston (1 in 2,147); and San Antonio (1 in 2,326).