Across the U.S., a total of 101,513 properties had a foreclosure filing — such as a default notice, scheduled auction or bank repossession — during the third quarter of 2025, a 17% rise from a year ago but up less than 1% from the second quarter.
In September, 1 in every 3,997 properties had a foreclosure filing. One in every 3,987 housing units had a foreclosure filing the month before.
A pattern of increasing foreclosure activity has remained consistent in 2025 as both foreclosure starts and completions have ticked up, according to the Q3 2025 Foreclosure Market Report published by Attom, a real estate analytics firm.
“While these figures remain within a historically reasonable range, the persistence of this trend could be an early indicator of emerging borrower strain in some areas,” noted Rob Barber, CEO of Attom, in a press release.
A total of 72,317 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in the third quarter, an increase of 2% from the second quarter and 16% higher year over year.
States that topped the list of most foreclosure starts in the third quarter were Texas, with 9,736; Florida, with 8,909; California, with 7,862; Illinois, with 3,515; and New York, with 3,234.
Across major metros with a population of at least 200,000, Houston (3,763), New York City (3,452), Chicago (3,144), Miami (2,502) and Los Angeles (2,321) recorded the most third-quarter foreclosure starts.
The worst third-quarter foreclosure rates were observed in Florida, where 1 in every 814 housing units carried a foreclosure filing. Nevada followed, with 1 in 831 housing units having a foreclosure filing. South Carolina (1 in 867), Illinois (1 in 944) and Delaware (1 in 974) rounded out the top states with highest foreclosure rates.
Among 225 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed by Attom with a population of 200,000 or greater, those with the worst third-quarter foreclosure rates were Lakeland, Fla. (1 in every 470 housing units); Columbia, S.C. (1 in 506); Cape Coral, Fla. (1 in 589); Cleveland (1 in 593); and Ocala, Fla. (1 in 665).
Attom reports that banks’ repossession of foreclosed properties increased by 33% in the third quarter from a year ago, with lenders repossessing 11,723 U.S. properties. That represents a 4% rise from the second quarter.
