Foreclosure Activity Inches Closer To Pre-Pandemic 2019 Levels

U.S. foreclosure activity has risen for more than a year and is moving toward, but not yet back to, 2019’s pre‑pandemic levels.

Where levels stand vs. 2019

• In 2019, there were about 493,000 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, representing 0.36% of all housing units.​

• In 2025, filings totaled about 367,460 properties, or 0.26% of housing units, up from 2024 but still below 2019’s rate and count.

• Foreclosure starts in 2025 were up 14% from 2024 and more than triple the 2021 pandemic low, but remained about 14% below 2019 and far below the 2009 peak.

• Lender repossessions (REOs) climbed to 46,439 in 2025, up 27% from 2024 but still 68% below the 143,955 REOs in 2019.

Taken together, this shows activity is normalizing toward pre‑COVID patterns, not returning to crisis‑level distress.

Latest monthly trend (early 2026)

• In January 2026, roughly 40,500 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings, up 32% from January 2025 but down 10% from December 2025.​

• Starts in January 2026 (about 26,369 properties) were down 7% from December but up 26% year over year, marking the 11th straight month of annual increases.

• Nationwide in December 2025, about one in every 3,163 housing units had a foreclosure filing, with activity up 57% from a year earlier.​

So on a month‑to‑month basis, filings are clearly rising year over year and drifting closer to 2019 norms, even if they have not fully matched those levels yet.

What’s driving the “inch closer” narrative

Analysts characterize the rise as part of a normalization after pandemic-era moratoria and stimulus, not a repeat of the Great Recession.
Key factors often cited include strong homeowner equity, tighter lending standards, and the unwinding of temporary protections that kept foreclosures artificially low from 2020–2022.

In practical terms, this means more distressed inventory and investor opportunity than a couple of years ago, but still far less systemic risk than in past downturns.

As of the latest data (January 2026), the states with the highest foreclosure rates are:

• Delaware – about one in every 1,612 housing units had a foreclosure filing in January 2026.

• Nevada – about one in every 1,983 housing units.

• Florida – about one in every 2,067 housing units.

• South Carolina – about one in every 2,351 housing units.

• Maryland – about one in every 2,430 housing units.

Snapshot including your state (Nevada)

• In November 2025, the worst states by rate were Delaware, South Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, and Florida.​

• By January 2026, Delaware, Nevada, and Florida took the top three spots, with South Carolina and Maryland rounding out the top five.

Simple ranking table (Jan 2026)