ATTOM: Foreclosure Activity Rises in February From January

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ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., released its February 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, showing there were a total of 32,383 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings. That’s up 5% from January but down 1.7% year-over-year.

ATTOM defines foreclosure filings as any properties with default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions.

“February’s rise in foreclosure filings suggests evolving market pressures,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “While some increase may reflect seasonal trends, the uptick in foreclosure starts both month-over-month and year-over-year signals potential shifts. We’ll continue monitoring how economic factors influence foreclosure activity moving forward.”

Lenders repossessed 3,031 properties via completed foreclosures in February, up a little less than 2% from January but down 11% from last year.

One in every 4,395 housing units had a foreclosure filing in February.

The states with the highest foreclosure rates were Delaware (one in every 2,278 housing units); Illinois (one in every 2,333 housing units); Nevada (one in every 2,435 housing units); New Jersey (one in every 2,695 housing units); and South Carolina (one in every 2,816 housing units.)

The foreclosure process started on 22,730 properties, up 8% from last month and 1% from a year ago.

States that saw the greatest increase in foreclosure starts (and had at least 100 foreclosure starts) were New Jersey (up 78%), Colorado (up 58%), Iowa (up 57%), Georgia (up 42%), and South Carolina (up 29%).