ATTOM data shows foreclosure starts and completed REOs both rose year over year, with Sun Belt states leading the distress
Foreclosure activity across the United States continued its measured upward march in April 2026, with new data from ATTOM showing 42,430 properties carrying a foreclosure filing during the month.
The latest figures, which were down 8% from March, represent an 18% increase from the same period a year ago. Volumes remain far below the peaks seen during the 2008 housing crisis.
For mortgage brokers working with purchase clients, particularly in markets across Florida, Texas, and the Southeast, the data offers a clearer picture of where distressed inventory is building and where affordability pressures are bearing down hardest on homeowners.
"Foreclosure activity continued its gradual trend higher in April, with both foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures posting annual gains," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM.
"While overall filings declined from the previous month, the year-over-year increases suggest lenders may be working through distressed inventory as higher borrowing costs and affordability challenges impact some homeowners. Even so, foreclosure activity remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels."
That same context has been a consistent refrain from industry professionals. In late 2025, California-based broker-owner Amir Nurani of Left Coast Leaders described the increases as "hyperbolized," noting that homeowners with strong equity positions have an exit before foreclosure becomes necessary.
"Those homes aren't going to go into foreclosure," Nurani told Mortgage Professional America.
"Those individuals are going to sell those homes before they let the house go. Foreclosure ends up being the last resort."
Sun Belt states and metros face the steepest pressure
Delaware posted the nation's worst foreclosure rate in April, with one filing for every 1,739 housing units, followed closely by South Carolina at one in every 1,745.
Florida ranked third nationally, with one in every 2,092 units, while Indiana and Illinois rounded out the top five.
At the metro level, Lakeland, FL led all major markets with a filing rate of one in every 1,221 housing units — the worst among metros with populations of 500,000 or more.
Columbia, SC and Charleston, SC followed, with Bakersfield, CA and Cape Coral, FL also appearing among the hardest-hit markets.
For brokers in these areas, the pattern is consistent with the broader dynamic throughout early 2026: elevated insurance costs and persistent affordability challenges in Sun Belt markets have eroded the equity cushion that protected many homeowners during the pandemic-era price surge.
As Donna Schmidt, president and CEO of DLS Servicing, noted in commentary on Q1 figures, Florida in particular saw a major surge in home prices during the pandemic that is now being reversed, leaving some borrowers with properties they can no longer afford but cannot sell without a shortfall.
Foreclosure starts and REOs both rise sharply from a year ago
Lenders initiated the foreclosure process on 28,414 properties in April, a 12% jump from April 2025, though the figure was 6% lower than March.
Florida led all states with 3,505 starts, followed by Texas with 3,154 and California with 2,786. Georgia and Illinois each crossed 1,000 starts for the month.
Several major metros recorded outsized year-over-year increases in starts. Pittsburgh saw filings more than double, rising from 82 starts in April 2025 to 215 this year.
Austin climbed from 158 to 396 starts — a 150%+ increase — while Raleigh, Lakeland, and Akron also posted significant annual gains. These are markets where brokers may begin to see more distressed listings enter the pipeline.
The sharpest annual jump came in completed foreclosures, or REOs.
Lenders repossessed 5,098 properties in April, up 42% from a year earlier, even as the figure dipped 3% from March.
Texas led with 640 REOs, followed by California with 515 and Florida with 381. Pennsylvania and Illinois also cracked the top five nationally.
Some metros bucked the trend. Atlanta recorded one of the steepest annual declines in REOs, dropping from 213 completions in April 2025 to just 52 this year. Kansas City, Flint, Macon, and Cleveland also saw REO counts fall year over year.
Stay updated with the freshest mortgage news. Get exclusive interviews, breaking news, and industry events in your inbox, and always be the first to know by subscribing to our FREE daily newsletter.
