Completed foreclosures notched another month of strong annual growth in August as overall foreclosure activity continued to trend above year-ago levels, according to industry data published Friday.

More than 40,000 properties carried foreclosure filings last month, up 1% from July levels and 13% higher than a year ago, real estate analytics firm Attom reported. Such filings include default notices, scheduled auctions and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

“While some homeowners are still facing financial challenges, overall foreclosure volumes remain well below historical norms and the broader housing market continues to demonstrate resilience,” Attom CEO Rob Barber commented in the report.

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Nationwide, about 1 in every 3,569 residential properties had a foreclosure filing in August, resulting in a foreclosure rate of about 0.028%. That compares to foreclosure rates above 2.2% during 2009 and 2010, following the 2008 financial crisis.

Normalization in foreclosure trends is nevertheless underway in 2026 after declining to historic though artificial lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a range of foreclosure moratoriums and flexible mortgage relief programs effectively shut off foreclosure activity.

Over the first half of 2026, for example, more than 250,000 housing units had a foreclosure filing, marking a 21% surge from the first half of 2025 and 28% higher than the first six months of 2024, Attom said in July.

Rising housing and living costs and the termination of pandemic-era relief programs are widely cited as drivers of the higher volumes. Those pressures persisted in August.

While South Carolina, Nevada and Florida continued to lead U.S. states with the worst foreclosure rates last month, Florida, Texas and California posted the largest increases in foreclosure starts. Though starts ultimately fell 3% from July levels, they remained approximately 7% higher than a year ago.

Florida recorded 3,189 foreclosure starts in August, followed by 3,126 in Texas and 2,565 in California. Illinois and Georgia trailed with around 1,190 starts each.

Completed foreclosures accelerated 22% on a monthly basis in August after remaining unchanged from June to July, though the 4,764 REO transactions in July marked 23% growth from a year ago. REOs totaled 5,794 in August, up 42% from last year.

Major Texas metros continued to lead the nation in bank repossessions, with REOs climbing to 448 in Houston compared to 405 in July. Dallas posted an even larger increase to 402 compared with 223 the previous month. REOs in San Antonio exactly doubled over the month from 128 in July to 256 in August, according to Attom.

All told, those three Texas cities accounted for 19% of all lender repossessions last month, down from more than 26% in July, as rising REO transaction trends broaden to more markets.