Cotality: March Foreclosure Inventory Rate at Six-Year High

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Cotality, Irvine, Calif., released its latest loan performance indicators, finding that the share of mortgages in some stage of delinquency was 3%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from March 2025.

The foreclosure inventory rate also increased for the first time in 15 months; it’s now at 0.4%. That’s up 0.1 percentage point year-over-year, and the highest level in six years.

By stage, early-stage delinquencies (defined as 30-59 days past due) are 1.5%, an increase from 1.4% in March.

Adverse delinquencies (defined as 60-89 days past due) are 0.4%, flat from March 2025.

Serious delinquencies (90 days or more past due) are 1.2%, up from 1% in March 2025.

The transition rate–which Cotality defines as the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due–is 0.6%, flat from March 2025.

“Foreclosure activity moved higher in March, with the national foreclosure inventory rate rising to 0.4%, the highest level in six years and marking the first increase in more than a year. This shift reflects a gradual transition from the historically low levels seen through 2024, as more loans move through later stages of delinquency,” said Molly Boesel, Cotality senior principal economist. “The uptick is not isolated–77% of U.S. metros are now experiencing increases in foreclosure rates, signaling that the trend is broad-based rather than concentrated in a few markets. This is markedly higher than in December 2025, when just under half of metros had increases in their foreclosure rate.”

“In many areas, particularly across parts of Florida and Texas, the rise in foreclosure activity aligns with earlier increases in serious delinquencies, suggesting that once borrowers fall behind, it is becoming more difficult to recover. While overall mortgage performance remains relatively stable, the growing number of metros with rising foreclosure rates points to emerging pressure in pockets of the housing market that warrants close monitoring,” she continued.