Filings jumped again in Q1 2026, but still trailed pre‑crisis peaks
US foreclosure activity inched higher again in early 2026, adding to nearly a year of steady increases and raising new questions for lenders about how resilient stretched borrowers will be if the economy slows.
ATTOM reported 118,727 properties with a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2026, up 6% from Q4 and 26% from a year earlier, with March alone posting nearly 46,000 filings.
Nationwide, one in every 1,211 housing units had a foreclosure filing in the quarter, led by Indiana, South Carolina and Florida.
Foreclosure starts reached 82,631 in Q1, 20% higher than a year ago, with Texas, Florida and California topping the list.
Repossessions also moved higher: lenders took back 14,020 properties, a 45% annual jump, even as the average time to foreclose fell 14% year over year to 577 days.
States such as Louisiana and Hawaii still saw multi‑year timelines, while Texas and West Virginia remained among the fastest.
“Foreclosure activity increased in the first quarter, with both starts and completed foreclosures posting solid year‑over‑year gains,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM.
“While volumes remain below historical peaks, the continued rise, especially in starts and bank repossessions, suggests financial pressure may be building for some homeowners and could signal shifting housing market dynamics.”
Filings climb, but not a 2008 rerun
In earlier commentary, Barber stressed that recent increases followed “several years of historically low levels” as pandemic‑era relief and rapid home‑price gains kept distress in check.
ATTOM data showed foreclosures in 2025 and early 2026 remain well below pre‑Great Financial Crisis peaks, even as the trend moved higher.
“In 2025, we’ve seen a consistent pattern of foreclosure activity trending higher, with both starts and completions posting year‑over‑year increases for consecutive quarters,” Barber previously said, calling the trend “an early indicator of emerging borrower strain in some areas.”
Affordability and arrears pressure build
Rising distress also intersected with an affordability squeeze.
“Home prices kept climbing in 2025 even as affordability challenges intensified for households across the country,” Barber said in separate comments on last year’s price gains.
Mortgage performance started to soften from rock‑bottom levels. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the overall mortgage delinquency rate rose to 4.26% in Q4 2025, up both quarter over quarter and year over year, though still near long‑run averages.
A slow‑burn test for servicing and risk models
For now, Q1 foreclosure figures point to a market that continue to normalize from emergency‑era lows rather than tip into crisis. But after 11 straight months of year‑over‑year increases in filings heading into 2026, the latest ATTOM report suggests that underwriting standards, loss‑mitigation playbooks and servicing capacity built in the past decade would face a more meaningful stress test in the year ahead.
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