As tough as it is for people to buy a home in the United States, it’s getting more difficult to keep one.
ATTOM, a curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, released its “Mid-Year 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report” July 17, which shows there were 187,659 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — in the first six months of 2025. That figure is up 5.8% from the same time period a year ago and is the highest in six years.
New Jersey was the seventh-worst state with foreclosure starts, or 0.18%, one in every 553 housing units. There were 6,826 properties in New Jersey with foreclosure filings. Nationwide, 0.13% of all housing units, one in every 758, had a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2025.
“Foreclosure activity continued its upward trend in the first half of 2025, with increases in both starts and completed foreclosures compared to last year,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “While the overall numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels, the persistent rise suggests that some homeowners are still facing financial challenges amid today’s housing and economic landscape.”
States that saw the greatest increases in foreclosure activity compared with a year ago in the first half of 2025 were Alaska (55%); Rhode Island (51%); Wyoming (46%); Utah (46%); and Colorado (41%).
States with the worst foreclosure rates in the first half of 2025 were Illinois (0.23% of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (0.23%); Nevada (0.21%); Florida (0.21%); and South Carolina (0.20%).
Atlantic City had among the worst foreclosure rates for a metro area at 0.25% and was tied for sixth with Las Vegas, Cleveland, and Palm Beach, Fla.
A total of 140,006 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process in the first six months of 2025, up 7% from the first half of last year and up 41% from the first half of 2020.
States that saw the greatest number of foreclosure starts in the first half of 2025 included Texas (17,680); Florida (15,198); California (14,751); Illinois (7,922); and New York (6,585).
Lenders foreclosed on a total of 21,007 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2025, up 12% from the first half of 2024.
States that posted the greatest number of repossessions in the first half of 2025 included Texas (2,207); California (1,799); Pennsylvania (1,461); Illinois (1,439); and Michigan (1,260).
