A key housing metric is signaling rising distress among US mortgage borrowers.
There has been a spike in foreclosure activity in the housing market, with the US recording 101,513 foreclosure filings for properties in the third quarter, according to the data provider ATTOM. That reflects a slight increase from the last quarter, but a 17% jump from the third quarter of last year, the firm said.
A total of 72,317 properties started the foreclosure process last quarter, per ATTOM’s quarterly update. That’s up 2% from the last quarter and up 16% from the number of foreclosure starts recorded last year, the firm said. Bank repossessions rose 4% for the quarter and 33% for the year.
Foreclosures have been rising steadily over the past several quarters. ATTOM data shows that foreclosure filings rose 11% over the first quarter and 4.8% in the second quarter. The latest quarter marks the first this year in which home loan failures have been up on a year-over-year basis.
“In 2025, we’ve seen a consistent pattern of foreclosure activity trending higher, with both starts and completions posting year-over-year increases for consecutive quarters,” Rob Barber, the CEO of ATTOM, said in a statement. “While these figures remain within a historically reasonable range, the persistence of this trend could be an early indicator of emerging borrower strain in some areas.”
The increase reflects broader financial stress among Americans, who are feeling the cumulative weight of inflation over recent years and a slowing job market.
Mortgage rates and home prices have also been elevated since the pandemic, which made the costs of homeownership higher for those who purchased a house in the last few years.
According to an AP-NORC survey conducted in July, nearly three-quarters of adults said they were experiencing stress from the cost of housing.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate remained above 6%, ticking up to 6.34% in the last week, according to Freddie Mac data. The median sale price of a US home also remained near a record high at $410,800 in the second quarter, according to the US Census Bureau.
