By Julie Taylor April 16, 2026

Foreclosure filings continued to rise nationwide in the first quarter of 2026, with total activity up 26% from a year ago.

There were a total of 118,727 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings during the three months of the year—with Indiana, South Carolina, and Florida recording the highest foreclosure rates for the period. The total includes default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions.

Nationwide, 1 in every 1,211 housing units had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2026, according to the firm's latest report.

Worst foreclosure states

The state with the worst foreclosure rate in the first quarter of 2026 was Indiana, with 1 in every 739 housing units there showing a foreclosure filing.

In Indiana, the median listing price is $292,500 and homes stay on the market an average of 53 days, according to Realtor.com® data.

Indiana real estate agent Fred Krawczyk of Fred Krawczyk & Associates—who has done hundreds of short sales - tells Realtor.com: "The main reason I hear for foreclosures in Indiana are death, divorce, job loss, job transfer, medical bills, and business failure. With the cost of groceries and gas going up, cost of living is high. When things start spiraling down, everything keeps piling up on these people, and everybody comes after them. With interest rates and late fees, it's a snowball effect. Unless someone dumps a big pile of money on you, it's hard to get out."

Even though Indiana ranked No. 1 in foreclosure rate, Barber says that current activity still remains well below historical peaks.

"Indiana saw more than 14,000 filings in some quarters during the Great Recession compared to just over 4,000 in Q1 2026, reflecting a similar pattern nationally, where today’s levels are a fraction of peak volumes," he says. "Overall, this suggests a market that is continuing to normalize, where certain regions may be experiencing more concentrated pressure.”

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