The rate of “zombie” foreclosures increased slightly to 3.38% of all residential properties in foreclosure in the third quarter, according to ATTOM’s latest Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report.
That’s slightly higher than the end of the second quarter, when 3.30% of pre-foreclosure homes were considered zombies, and higher the 3.14% rate posted in the third quarter of 2024.
Approximately 1.4 million residential properties are vacant – about 1.3% of all homes in the U.S. – and of those only about 7,519 are zombie properties, meaning they have been abandoned by their owner.
The national vacancy rate has been consistent for three-and-a-half years as the nation has experienced a high-demand housing market, ATTOM says.
About 222,318 properties across the country are in the process of foreclosure, the firm says.
“Vacant and zombie homes can hurt the value of surrounding properties and start a negative spiral in a local housing market,” says Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, in the report. “While we’ve seen the rate of zombie homes tick up a tiny bit this quarter, the overall rate of vacant homes and homes in the foreclosure process has remained remarkably steady.”
“While there remain some markets with worryingly high rates of vacancies, as a whole it appears that the nation’s buyers are quickly filling homes that become available,” he adds.
Photo: Luis Georg Müller