Florida Leads in Foreclosures as Filings Rise 14% Nationwide

Foreclosures have continued apace, with Florida leading the nation in May, according to a new report.

Nationwide, foreclosure filings dropped 5% last month from April but surged 14% from a year ago, according to the May 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report released by property data provider ATTOM.

Florida had the worst foreclosure rate in the country, with 1 in every 2,110 housing units in the Sunshine State carrying a foreclosure filing, compared with 1 in every 3,562 housing units nationwide.

Florida was followed in foreclosure rates by South Carolina and Maryland, while Vermont and South Dakota had the lowest foreclosure rates in the nation.

“Foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures both increased compared to last year, reflecting ongoing pressure on some homeowners as elevated mortgage rates, rising ownership costs, and affordability constraints persist," says ATTOM CEO Rob Barber. "At the same time, foreclosure volumes remain well below historical norms, indicating that the housing market continues to show resilience despite these challenges.”

Midrange cities are seeing foreclosures slow

Among larger cities, Cleveland recorded the worst foreclosure rate in May 2026, with one filing for every 1,524 housing units. 

Other major cities with high foreclosure rates were Baltimore (1 in every 1,804); Tampa, FL (1 in every 1,878); Riverside, CA (1 in every 1,980 housing units); and Orlando, FL (1 in every 2,034).

But while it appears that foreclosures are climbing across larger cities, several midrange cities (with populations of at least 200,000) saw year-over-year downswings.

Santa Rosa, CA’s foreclosures decreased from 93 in May 2025 to 21 in May 2026, while Honolulu, Seattle, Visalia, CA, and Greeley, CO, all saw foreclosures decrease by around 50%. 

Texas and Florida, where foreclosures are high, face similar challenges

In May, Texas saw the highest raw number of foreclosure starts, at 3,590, while Florida trailed slightly behind with 3,315.

"Texas is on the list not due to a bad economy but due to a confluence of few cost drivers simultaneously," says Levi Rodgers, owner of LRG Realty in San Antonio. "We’ve had property taxes increase 20% to 40% across many of our counties since 2021. Insurance premiums rose statewide, not just on the coast (mostly due to hail and wind losses), and builder buydowns from 2022 to 2024 are ending for many borrowers, causing their payment to reset up."

At the same time, he says, the influx of new buyers to the state has slowed enough that it's no longer possible to sell and walk away.

"In many of the new-construction subdevelopments surrounding San Antonio, I'm watching escrow shortages range from $600 to $1,200 per month," he continues. "This is the difference between current and 90 days late. These people qualified and paid for a number of years before the taxes and insurance moved ahead of their paycheck."

There are similar issues in Florida, where property taxes have dramatically increased and climate disasters have shifted insurance premiums ever-upward. And then there's the influx of new residents that both states saw during the pandemic. Many of them were drawn to door-busting mortgage rates on new construction.

"There were countless homebuyers—especially on the new builds—who took advantage of temporary buydowns in interest rates," says Mason Whitehead of Churchill Mortgage in Dallas. "As an example, if the rate was 6.5% on the mortgage, it was reduced to 4.5% for the first year, 5.5% for the second year, then 6.5% for year three through 30. It makes sense that some of those loans adjusting to full market rates are held by borrowers who were hoping to be able to refinance at a lower rate by now. Since those lower rates haven't materialized, the full market rate has led to higher payments that are straining budgets."