Even though 2026 is looking brighter, affordability—not just in homebuying but in homeownership—continues to face challenges as the market works to normalize. For homeowners specifically, the costs of owning a home continue to add pressure as the latest data from ATTOM saw foreclosure activity remain high year-over-year.
ATTOM’s Foreclosure Market Report for January found that there were a total of 40,534 properties with foreclosure filings, down 10% from a month ago but up a notable 32% from a year ago. Nationwide, one in every 3,547 housing units had a foreclosure filing.
The 11th straight month foreclosure activity has risen year-over-year, said ATTOM CEO Rob Barber, “continuing a trend that has now carried into early 2026.”
States with the worst foreclosure rates were Delaware (one in every 1,612 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Nevada (one in every 1,983); Florida (one in every 2,067); South Carolina (on in every 2,351); and Maryland (one in every 2,430).
In terms of starts, ATTOM reported that lenders started the foreclosure process on 26,369 properties in January, down 7% from last month but up 26% from a year ago. States that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts were Florida (3,523 foreclosure starts); Texas (3,116); California (2,790); Georgia (1,351); and New York (1,304).
Completed foreclosures (REOs) came in at 4,714 properties, a decrease of 21% from last month and a whopping 59% increase from last year. States that had the greatest number of REOs were Texas (573 REOs); California (415); Florida (327); Pennsylvania (311); and Illinois (267).
Barber noted, however, that despite high annual rises, foreclosure activity is still down from historic peaks, “suggesting that most homeowners are still on stable footing even as higher housing costs and broader economic pressures create stress in certain pockets of the market.”
