Banks seize 42% more homes as Americans fall behind on mortgages — with one state hit the hardest
More American’s are losing the keys to their houses.
Foreclosures are climbing across the US, with the number of homes repossessed by lenders surging 42% from a year ago as more struggling homeowners reach the end of the foreclosure process.
Lenders repossessed 5,794 properties through completed foreclosures in August, up 22% from July and a 42% from August 2025, according to a new report from real estate data firm ATTOM.
Overall, 40,277 US properties received some form of foreclosure filing — including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — during the month. That was up just 1% from July but 13% from a year earlier, continuing a months-long trend of foreclosure activity running above 2025 levels.
Florida recorded the largest number of foreclosure starts, at 3,189, followed closely by Texas with 3,126 and California with 2,565. Illinois and Georgia rounded out the top five.
The growing number of homes making it all the way through the foreclosure pipeline was particularly pronounced in Texas.
The Lone Star State recorded 1,835 completed foreclosures in August — more than three times California’s 589. North Carolina followed with 356, Arizona with 296 and Alabama with 286.
Texas cities also dominated the list of major metropolitan areas with the most bank repossessions.
Houston led the country with 448 completed foreclosures, followed by Dallas with 402 and San Antonio with 256. Phoenix recorded 186, while Baltimore had 167.
Where foreclosure rates are worst
South Carolina had the highest foreclosure rate in the country in August, with one in every 1,547 housing units receiving a filing.
Nevada followed at one in every 1,920 homes, while Florida ranked third at one in every 2,397.
Texas, at one in every 2,445 housing units, and Maryland, at one in every 2,530, rounded out the five states with the highest foreclosure rates.
Nationwide, one in every 3,569 housing units received a foreclosure filing during August.
New York fared better overall, ranking 29th among states, with 1,604 properties receiving foreclosure filings — or one in every 5,352 housing units, according to ATTOM’s state-by-state breakdown.
Within the Empire State, Cortland, Greene, Orange and Tioga counties had the highest foreclosure rates.
The distress was particularly concentrated in parts of the Southeast.
Among metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents, Columbia, SC, posted the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 1,232 housing units receiving a filing.
Punta Gorda, Fla., came next at one in every 1,249, followed by Spartanburg, SC, at one in every 1,262; Fayetteville, NC, at one in every 1,458; and Charleston, SC, at one in every 1,501.
Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, told The Post the increase partly reflects the housing market returning to more normal foreclosure levels after several unusually quiet years — but mounting costs are also squeezing some homeowners.
“Homeowners are navigating a range of financial pressures, including higher insurance costs, borrowing costs and everyday living expenses, which could be adding strain to some household budgets,” Barber said.
“Even with those pressures, overall foreclosure activity remains below pre-pandemic norms, so we are not seeing signs of broad-based distress in the housing market.”
Foreclosure starts — when lenders initiate the process against delinquent borrowers — actually dipped 3% from July to 25,894 properties in August. But they remained 7% higher than a year earlier.
That increase was far smaller than the 42% annual surge in completed foreclosures.
Barber cautioned that starts and completed foreclosures represent different stages of the process and therefore don’t necessarily move in tandem.
“Our data does not point to a specific factor behind the sharper increase in completions,” he told The Post.
Still, the rise in foreclosures does not mean the housing market is facing anything resembling the foreclosure crisis that followed the Great Recession.
“What we are seeing appears to be a combination of foreclosure activity moving higher from relatively low levels and some homeowners facing financial challenges,” Barber told The Post.
“The year-over-year increases are worth watching, but overall foreclosure volumes remain below pre-pandemic norms,” he added. “At this point, the data suggests pockets of financial stress rather than widespread distress across the housing market.”
The latest numbers also extend a broader rise seen throughout 2026. During the first half of the year, 227,548 US properties received foreclosure filings, up 21% from the same period in 2025.
Completed foreclosures jumped 33% during that six-month period, while foreclosure starts climbed 18%, according to ATTOM.