Foreclosure rates climb to six-year highs as cities in one region hit the hardest – UK Times

Foreclosure rates shot at the start of 2026 but experts say the trend isn’t worrisome… yet.

Some 118,727 properties were in foreclosure nationwide during the first three months of 2026 – up 26 percent from a year ago and the highest number since 2020, a recent report from housing data and analytics firm ATTOM revealed.

States with the highest foreclosure rate – number of homes in foreclosure versus total number of homes – were Indiana (1 in 739), followed by South Carolina (1 in 743), Florida (1 in 750), Delaware (1 in 757) and Illinois (1 in 833), according to the report.

For cities with at least 200,000 people, the South was hit hardest. Two Florida cities, Lakeland and Punta Gorda, had the two highest foreclosure rates in the country, followed by Columbia, South Carolina; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Macon, Georgia, ATTOM reported.

Foreclosure starts – the number of homes that began the process at a given time, were up 20 percent from a year ago.

Responses to the data were mixed. Some – like ATTOM CEO Rob Barber – believe that the numbers indicate that Americans are feeling the pressure of higher prices across the board and may struggle to pay their mortgage.

However, others say the spike is more a return to normal foreclosure rates after five years of suppressed rates, thanks to COVID-era homeowner protections.

That was the opinion of Donna Schmidt, CEO of DLS Servicing, a company that helps mortgage lenders make the foreclosure and repossession process more efficient.

Schmidt told housing market publication HousingWire that five years of putting off foreclosures could result in a rush of them in the next two years.