There were 25,129 foreclosure starts nationwide in October, an increase of 6% compared with September and up 20% compared with October 2024, according to ATTOM’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.
States that had the greatest number of foreclosure starts in October included Florida (4,136), Texas (3,080), California (2,685), Illinois (1,252) and New York (1,165).
Looking at all foreclosure filings – including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – a total of 36,766 U.S. properties saw foreclosure actions, up 3% from last month ago and up 19% from a year ago.
“Foreclosure activity continued its steady upward trend in October, the eighth straight month of year-over-year increases,” says Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, in the report. “Starts rose nearly 20 percent, while completed foreclosures were up 32 percent from last year.”
“Even with these increases, activity remains well below historic highs,” Barber says. “The current trend appears to reflect a gradual normalization in foreclosure volumes as market conditions adjust and some homeowners continue to navigate higher housing and borrowing costs.”
Nationwide, one in every 3,871 housing units had a foreclosure filing in October 2025. States with the worst foreclosure rates were Florida, South Carolina, Illinois, Delaware and Nevada.
Among the U.S. cities with populations of 1 million or more, Tampa, Fla., posted the highest foreclosure rate in October, at one in every 1,373 housing units. The increase reflects a temporary spike caused by the resumption of data collection in Hillsborough County, which added backlogged records and is expected to normalize in November.
Following Tampa were Jacksonville, Fla. (one in every 1,576 housing units); Orlando, Fla. (one in every 1,703); Riverside, Calif. (one in every 1,983); and Cleveland, Ohio (one in every 2,114).
Lenders repossessed 3,872 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in October, an increase of 2% compared with September and an increase of 32% compared with October 2024.
States that had the greatest number of REOs included Texas (358), California (336), Florida (243), Pennsylvania (205), and Illinois (187).
Photo: Matthew Moloney