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Among U.S. metro areas with populations of 200,000 or more, Trenton recorded the nation’s worst foreclosure rate in January 2026, with one filing for every 1,087 housing units, according to ATTOM, a leading U.S. property data platform and analytics provider.
Nationwide, there were a total of 40,534 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, which includes default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions, according to ATTOM’s latest monthly report. That represents a 32% year-over-year increase from January 2025.
“Foreclosure activity in January rose year over year for the eleventh straight month, continuing a trend that has now carried into early 2026,” said ATTOM CEO Rob Barber. “Foreclosure starts were up 26% percent from a year ago, while completed foreclosures increased nearly 59%.
“Although foreclosure activity has been rising steadily, overall levels remain well below historic peaks, suggesting that most homeowners are still on stable footing even as higher housing costs and broader economic pressures create stress in certain pockets of the market,” he said.
States with the worst foreclosure rates were Delaware (one in every 1,612 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Nevada (one in every 1,983 housing units); Florida (one in every 2,067 housing units); South Carolina (on in every 2,351 housing units); and Maryland (one in every 2,430 housing units).
New Jersey’s capital had the highest foreclosure activity in the U.S. among metro areas, followed by Punta Gorda, Florida (1 in every 1,187 housing units), Fayetteville, North Carolina (1 in every 1,257); Lakeland, Florida (1 in every 1,262); and Vallejo, California (1 in every 1,287).
The report also broke down the foreclosure rate further by the number of starts and the number of completions. Nationwide, lenders started the foreclosure process on 26,369 U.S. properties in January 2026, down 7% from the month prior but up 26% compared to a year ago. States with the most foreclosure starts were Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, and New York.
Lenders repossessed 4,714 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in January, a decrease of 21% from the month prior, but an increase of 59% compared to January 2025. States that had the greatest number of REOs in January 2026 included: Texas, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
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