A total of 40,277 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in August, up 13% from a year earlier and 1% from July, according to ATTOM’s August 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report released Sept. 17. The count includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. South Carolina posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, and four of the five hardest-hit metro areas were in the Carolinas.
What the 40,277 Filings Include
ATTOM’s August 2026 foreclosure report counts properties with at least one foreclosure document entered during the month. Those documents fall into three phases. The default phase includes a notice of default or a lis pendens, the filing that tells the public a lawsuit affecting the property is pending. The auction phase includes notices of trustee sale or foreclosure sale. The final phase covers real estate owned, or REO, properties that a lender has taken back.
Because the total mixes early and late stages, 40,277 filings does not mean 40,277 families lost their homes in August. Many filings are early warnings that can still end in a repayment plan, loan modification, sale or other resolution. ATTOM, a property data firm based in Irvine, California, collects the documents from more than 3,000 counties that together cover more than 99% of the U.S. population. It also avoids double counting: if the same type of document was already filed against a property within the state’s typical foreclosure timeframe, the property is not counted again.
“August’s data shows that foreclosure activity continues to trend above year-ago levels, particularly in completed foreclosures, which saw a notable annual increase,” said Rob Barber, ATTOM’s chief executive. He added that “overall foreclosure volumes remain well below historical norms and the broader housing market continues to demonstrate resilience.”
Inside the kit: The 5 kinds of property-tax relief, the circuit-breaker credit that includes renters, help with heating, cooling and home repairs, and an application log and renewal calendar for the housing costs that sit outside a mortgage servicer’s notices. Open The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit.
The Carolinas Posted the Highest Foreclosure Rates
Nationwide, one in every 3,569 housing units had a foreclosure filing in August. South Carolina’s rate was more than twice that, at one filing for every 1,547 housing units. Nevada followed at one in 1,920, then Florida at one in 2,397, Texas at one in 2,445 and Maryland at one in 2,530.
Among metro areas with at least 200,000 residents, Columbia, South Carolina, had the worst rate, with one filing for every 1,232 housing units. Punta Gorda, Florida, came next at one in 1,249. Spartanburg, South Carolina, was third at one in 1,262, followed by Fayetteville, North Carolina, at one in 1,458 and Charleston, South Carolina, at one in 1,501.
Rates measure filings relative to the number of homes, so a smaller market can rank high with a modest number of cases. That makes them useful for comparing risk across places, but they do not describe the finances of every owner in those areas. Still, the gap is wide: in Columbia, the filing rate was nearly three times the national figure of one filing per 3,569 homes, and in Punta Gorda and Spartanburg it was close behind.
New Cases Rose 7%, While Completions Jumped
The filing total breaks down into distinct trends. Lenders started the foreclosure process on 25,894 properties in August, up 7% from a year earlier but down 3% from July. Florida led in starts with 3,189, followed by Texas with 3,126, California with 2,565, Illinois with 1,192 and Georgia with 1,189.
Several large metros saw starts fall from a year earlier. Cleveland dropped from 281 starts in August 2025 to 175. Washington, D.C., fell from 364 to 227, Providence from 88 to 55, Raleigh from 81 to 57 and Kansas City from 104 to 75.
Completed foreclosures moved much faster. Lenders repossessed 5,794 properties in August, 42% more than a year earlier and 22% more than in July. Texas had 1,835 of them, far ahead of California with 589, North Carolina with 356, Arizona with 296 and Alabama with 286. Houston, Dallas and San Antonio were the three metros with the most repossessions. Those completions usually reflect cases that began months or longer before August, so they are a separate measure from the new starts, not a second version of the same count.
The 13% annual rise in total filings and the 1% monthly change can both hold at once. Foreclosure systems move slowly, and a month can be nearly flat compared with the one before while still running well above the same month a year earlier. ATTOM noted that even with the recent gains, overall activity remains below pre-pandemic norms.
The Window Between a Filing and a Sale
For homeowners, a filing marks the start of a process, not the end. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that, generally, the legal foreclosure process cannot begin until a borrower is at least 120 days behind, and the time from there to a sale varies by state. The bureau urges borrowers to respond when a servicer reaches out and to ask about loss mitigation, such as repayment plans or loan modifications.
Free help is available from HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, which can guide borrowers through those applications. The CFPB connects callers to counselors at (855) 411-2372 and through its online counselor search.
Older homeowners often have more at stake in that window. Many have built substantial equity over decades, and a completed foreclosure can wipe out much of it. Retirees on fixed incomes are also exposed to rising property taxes and insurance, which are commonly collected through escrow and can push up a monthly payment on a fixed-rate loan. Addressing those costs early, before payments fall behind, leaves more choices than waiting until an auction date is set.
The Home-Budget Gaps a Foreclosure Notice Does Not List
A default notice speaks only to the loan. The property taxes, energy bills and repairs that also squeeze a retiree’s budget are handled by different offices, and the relief available for each depends on an application filed on time.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit includes the 5 kinds of property-tax relief, heating, cooling and home-repair help, and an application log and renewal calendar for keeping those filings organized.
Map the non-mortgage side of the housing budget with The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked official sources.
