U.S. Foreclosure Activity Increased in January
Foreclosures rose 8% in January but dropped 7% from last year. REOs increased in 30 states. Foreclosure starts rose 8% from December but fell 4% from last year.
IRVINE, Calif. — A total of 30,816 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – in January, up 8% from the prior month but down 7% from a year ago, according to the real estate analytics firm ATTOM.
“January showed a monthly increase in foreclosure filings that may in some part be the result of a normal post-holiday catch up of filings,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, said. “It’s too early to know if 2025 will shift from the general 2024 trends of a continued decline in foreclosure activity. We will keep a close eye on the market to see how interest rates, inflation, employment shifts, and other market dynamics impact foreclosures in 2025.”
Foreclosure completion numbers increase monthly in 30 states
Lenders repossessed 2,973 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in January 2025, up just under 1% from last month but down 25% from a year ago — continuing a trend of declining annual REO numbers seen in 11 of the last 12 months.
States that had at least 50 or more REOs and that saw the greatest monthly increase in January 2025 included: Arizona (up 73%); Virginia (up 57%); South Carolina (up 55%); North Carolina (up 52%); and Tennessee (up 26%).
Among the 225 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, that saw the greatest number of REOs included: Detroit, MI (164 REOs); Chicago, IL (148 REOs); Riverside, CA (141 REOs); New York, NY (84 REOs); and Philadelphia, PA (69 REOs).
Highest foreclosure rates in Delaware, Nevada, and Indiana
Nationwide one in every 4,618 housing units had a foreclosure filing in January 2025. States with the highest foreclosure rates were Delaware (one in every 1,839 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Nevada (one in every 2,430 housing units); Indiana (one in every 2,459 housing units); Illinois (one in every 2,756 housing units); and Utah (one in every 3,251 housing units).
Those major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population greater than 200,000, with the highest foreclosure rates in January 2025 were Riverside, CA (one in every 1,786 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Elkhart, IN (one in every 1,821 housing units); South Bend, IN (one in every 1,821 housing units); Fresno, CA (one in every 1,859 housing units); and Indianapolis, IN (one in every 1,934 housing units).
Other than Riverside, Fresno, and Indianapolis, among the metropolitan areas with a population greater than 1 million, those with the worst foreclosure rates in January 2025 included: Las Vegas, NV (one in every 1,987 housing units); and Philadelphia, PA (one in every 2,042 housing units).
Foreclosure starts increase monthly and decrease annually
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 20,994 U.S. properties in January 2025, up 8% from last month but down 4% from a year ago.
Those states that saw the greatest number of foreclosures starts in January 2025 included: Texas (2,654 foreclosure starts); California (2,443 foreclosure starts); Florida (1,898 foreclosure starts); Illinois (1,228 foreclosure starts); and New York (949 foreclosure starts).
Among those major metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the greatest number of foreclosure starts in January 2025, included: Chicago, IL (1,168 foreclosure starts); New York, NY (977 foreclosure starts); Houston, TX (932 foreclosure starts); Philadelphia, PA (777 foreclosure starts); and Los Angeles, CA (652 foreclosure starts).
Report methodology: The ATTOM U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the ATTOM Data Warehouse during the month and quarter. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the quarter may have been recorded in the previous quarter. Data is collected from more than 3,000 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 99% of the U.S. population. ATTOM’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the annual, midyear and quarterly reports, if more than one type of foreclosure document is received for a property during the timeframe, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. The annual, midyear, quarterly and monthly reports all check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report does not count the property in the current year, quarter or month.
Source: ATTOM
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