Foreclosure filings are rising fast in these 10 U.S. states |
Foreclosure filings are rising fast in these 10 U.S. states
More Americans are losing homes to lenders. ATTOM tracked foreclosure filings across all 50 states in Q1 2026 to identify where rates climbed fastest
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For most of the past few years, foreclosure rates stayed quiet across the U.S. The moratoriums and mortgage assistance programs of the pandemic era held back a wave of defaults that might otherwise have crested, and many homeowners who would have struggled found temporary relief. That cushion has eroded. Foreclosure filings have climbed for several consecutive quarters, and the year-over-year jumps in the first quarter of 2026 are large enough that they can no longer be dismissed as a return to seasonal norms.
The acceleration is not confined to states that have historically carried the highest foreclosure burdens. Some of the steepest year-over-year increases are showing up in states where filings were already low. The trend reflects something broader than a regional correction. More than 118,000 properties nationwide carried a foreclosure filing in Q1 2026, up 26% from the same period a year earlier. Bank repossessions — the final stage of that process — rose 45% year over year nationally, and foreclosure starts climbed 20%. Neither figure fits the expected pattern of a market simply returning to equilibrium. For homeowners in the states below, the numbers are moving in a direction that is hard to attribute to anything temporary. Foreclosure starts rose 20% year over year, and bank repossessions climbed 45%. Both numbers exceed the national 12-month norm.
ATTOM, a national property data company, tracked foreclosure filings across all U.S. properties in Q1 2026 and measured year-over-year change by state to identify where activity is growing fastest. The analysis covers filings in all three phases of foreclosure — default notices, auction announcements, and bank repossessions — gathered from more than 3,000 counties representing over 99% of the U.S. population. The 10 states below had the largest year-over-year increases in foreclosure filing rates as measured from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026.
1. South Dakota foreclosure filings nearly triples
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South Dakota recorded 57 foreclosure filings in Q1 2026, up 185% from Q1 2025. That is the largest year-over-year percentage gain of any state. One in every 7,107 housing units had a filing during the quarter. That rate reflects how small the state's total housing stock is, and how dramatically even modest absolute increases translate into large percentage swings.
The year-over-year increase is striking because the base was so low. When the number of filings nearly triples from a small starting point, the percentage gain is mathematically extreme, but the underlying shift is still real: more South Dakota homeowners entered the foreclosure process in early 2026 than in any comparable recent period. A quarterly increase of 83.87% from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 suggests the acceleration did not begin long ago and is still gathering momentum.
South Dakota's rate of one filing per 7,107 housing units is still far below the national average of one per 1,211. The state remains among the least affected in the country by overall volume. The steepness of the growth curve, however, sets South Dakota apart from every other state. States with small foreclosure populations are more sensitive to small absolute changes, and the trajectory here shows those absolute changes moving sharply upward.
The state had not been exempt from the broader national trend in prior quarters, but Q1 2026 pushed it to an outlier position in terms of percentage growth. That quarterly gain adds weight to the year-over-year figure: the pace of acceleration has not slowed from Q4 to Q1. Whether the state's small size makes that growth a statistical artifact or an early signal of lasting strain, the direction is unambiguous. South Dakota's foreclosure filings rose faster in Q1 2026 than those of any other state measured across the country. The quarterly data shows that pace was still accelerating.
2. Georgia leads large states in foreclosure growth
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Georgia posted 4,549 foreclosure filings in Q1 2026, up 77.83% from the same quarter a year earlier. That is the second-highest year-over-year growth rate among all states and one of the largest absolute filing volumes among the top 10. One in every 998 housing units had a foreclosure filing, a rate worse than the national average of one per 1,211.
The state's filings rose 24.09% from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 as well, meaning the acceleration was not simply a favorable prior-year comparison. Atlanta had 2,520 foreclosure starts in Q1 2026, placing it among the largest metro areas nationally for foreclosure activity. The metro's volume alone accounts for more than half of the state's overall foreclosure starts, concentrating the pressure in Georgia's largest housing market.
Georgia's scale distinguishes it from most other states in the top 10. States such as South Dakota and Montana posted larger percentage gains but had far fewer total filings. Georgia's filing count of 4,549 is large enough to register as a meaningful housing stress signal across a broad population, not just a statistical ripple from a small base. The state is home to millions of homeowners, and a filing rate worse than........