U.S. foreclosures jump 18–26%

ATTOM said on May 14 that 42,430 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings in April 2026, up 18% from a year earlier and down 8% from March. The filings include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, according to the property-data company’s monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. Newsweek cited that April report in a May 16 story on state foreclosure rates. Fox 4, in a separate May 15 story, cited a 26% increase tied to a different ATTOM measure covering an earlier period. The two percentages are not necessarily contradictory. ATTOM’s April monthly report measured all foreclosure filings in April against April 2025 and found an 18% increase. ATTOM’s first-quarter report, released in April, said foreclosure starts rose 26% from a year earlier in the first quarter, while total March filings rose 28% year over year. Fox 4’s story described U.S. foreclosures as up 26% from last year while focusing on first-quarter state rankings, including Indiana. (attomdata.com) ### Why are some reports saying 18% and others 26%? ATTOM published different foreclosure statistics for different time periods and stages of the process. The April 2026 monthly report said total foreclosure filings rose 18% from a year earlier. The first-quarter report said foreclosure starts rose 26% year over year, and that completed foreclosures increased 59% from a year earlier in the quarter. (attomdata.com) Fox 4’s wording appears to draw from the first-quarter figure on starts rather than the April count of total filings. Newsweek’s wording matches ATTOM’s April monthly total. Both outlets attributed their figures to ATTOM data. ### What exactly counts as a foreclosure filing? (attomdata.com) ATTOM said a foreclosure filing can be a default notice, a scheduled auction or a bank repossession, also called real-estate-owned, or REO. That means the headline number tracks multiple points in the foreclosure pipeline rather than only homes that have already been taken back by lenders. (newsweek.com) In April, ATTOM said foreclosure starts rose 12% from a year earlier and lender repossessions rose 42% from a year earlier. Those stage-by-stage figures help explain why some stories emphasize different percentages depending on whether they are discussing starts, total filings or completed foreclosures. (attomdata.com) ### Which states and metro areas were most affected? Indiana posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate in the first quarter of 2026, with one filing for every 739 housing units, according to ATTOM data cited by Fox 4 and Newsweek. South Carolina followed at one in every 743 housing units, with Florida at one in every 750, Delaware at one in every 757 and Illinois at one in every 833, Newsweek reported from the same ATTOM dataset. (attomdata.com) Lakeland, Florida, had the worst metro foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 people, at one filing for every 409 housing units in the first quarter, according to Newsweek’s summary of ATTOM data. Punta Gorda, Florida; Columbia, South Carolina; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Macon, Georgia followed. (fox4news.com) ### What did ATTOM say about the trend? Rob Barber, ATTOM’s chief executive officer, said in the first-quarter release that both starts and completed foreclosures posted solid year-over-year gains. In the April release, ATTOM said the latest figures continued a year-long pattern of annual increases in foreclosure activity. (newsweek.com) ATTOM’s April report also said the annual rise came even as filings fell month over month from March. That combination — a monthly decline alongside a year-over-year increase — means the recent direction depends on which comparison is being used. ### Where can readers track the next update? (attomdata.com) ATTOM published its April 2026 foreclosure report on May 14 on its foreclosures news page and market-report pages. The company also posts quarterly updates that break out national, state and metro figures, including foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures. (attomdata.com) Newsweek’s May 16 article and Fox 4’s May 15 article both relied on those ATTOM releases, and the next monthly update will be posted through the same ATTOM foreclosure report pages if the company keeps its current publication pattern. (newsweek.com) (attomdata.com)