ATTOM reported that the 367,460 properties that filed last year represented 0.26% of all US homes, up slightly from 0.23% in 2024. But that number is down from 0.36% in 2019 and down from 2.23% in 2010.
“Foreclosure activity increased in 2025, reflecting the continued growth of the housing market following several years of low rates,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “While filings, starts, and repossessions are up compared to 2024, foreclosure activity remains below pre-pandemic trends and a fraction of what we saw during the housing crisis.
“The data suggest that today’s rise is driven more by market recovery than widespread homeowner distress, with strong equity positions and leveraged lending continuing to limit risk.”
But experts warn against that Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers may face additional challenges under the agency’s new loss mitigation rules, especially as foreclosures remain high.
“The new FHA waterfall can be challenging for borrowers and employees alike,” said Donna Schmidt, president and CEO of the. DLS service. “Over the past five years, the spread of delinquency rates on FHA-insured loans and all mortgages has grown significantly. Meanwhile, incomplete claims are unsustainable, with the share of borrowers with a previous partial claim rising from 5% in 2020 to 50% in 2025.”
Schmidt added that shrinking home equity and reliance on down payment assistance from federal housing finance agencies leave many FHA borrowers particularly vulnerable.
“Under these circumstances, the new FHA waterfall may leave a large portion of distressed borrowers unable to qualify for additional loss mitigation or partial claims. With less equity to work with, sales may increase,” he said.
Closure data
Lenders started foreclosure proceedings on 289,441 US properties in 2025, up 14 percent from 2024, but down 86 percent from a peak of more than 2.1 million in 2009, in the middle of the financial crisis.
States that saw the largest number of foreclosures begin in 2025 include Texas (37,215 foreclosures), Florida (34,336) and California (29,777).
Metropolitan areas with at least 1 million people that saw the highest number of foreclosures starting in 2025 include New York (14,189), Chicago (13,312) and Houston (13,009).
Bank returns, however, increased year over year as lenders repossessed 46,439 properties through foreclosures (REO) by 2025. That’s up 27% from 2024 but down 96% from a peak of 1.05 million in 2010.
The top three states with the largest number of REOs in 2025 were Texas (5,147), California (4,030) and Pennsylvania (2,975). And the top three cities for most REOs were Chicago (2,033), New York City (1,462) and Houston (1,381).
Florida, Delaware and South Carolina posted the highest foreclosure rates in 2025, with Florida having one in every 230 homes receiving a foreclosure. Lakeland, Florida, recorded the metro’s worst foreclosure rate in 2025, with one filing for every 145 households.
The average time to complete a foreclosure continued to fall. Properties that passed in the fourth quarter of 2025 spent an average of 592 days in the process, down 3% from the previous quarter and 22% from a year ago. Louisiana had the longest average foreclosure timeline at more than 3,400 days.
Foreclosure activity accelerated in late 2025, with a total of 111,692 US properties in foreclosure in the fourth quarter, up 10% from the previous quarter and 32% from last year.
In December alone, one in 3,163 properties had a foreclosure file. New Jersey recorded the highest state rate for the month, with one in every 1,734 households having a file. First purchases are up 19% from November and 46% from last year, while completed foreclosures have more than doubled since December 2024.
