January Foreclosure Activity Up 8% Month-Over-Month

A total of 30,816 residential properties carried foreclosure filings in January, according to new data from ATTOM. This is up 8% from December and down 7% from January 2024.

Nationwide, one in every 4,618 housing units had a foreclosure filing last month. The states with the highest foreclosure rates were Delaware (one in every 1,839 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Nevada (one in every 2,430 housing units); Indiana (one in every 2,459 housing units); Illinois (one in every 2,756 housing units); and Utah (one in every 3,251 housing units).

Lenders started the foreclosure process on 20,994 properties in January, an 8% increase month-over-month and a 4% year-over-year decline. Lenders repossessed 2,973 properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in January, a 1% uptick from the previous month and a 25% decline from one year earlier. This continued the trend of declining annual REO numbers seen in 11 of the last 12 months.

“January showed a monthly increase in foreclosure filings that may in some part be the result of a normal post-holiday catch up of filings,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “It’s too early to know if 2025 will shift from the general 2024 trends of a continued decline in foreclosure activity.  We will keep a close eye on the market to see how interest rates, inflation, employment shifts, and other market dynamics impact foreclosures in 2025.”