2025 Foreclosure Surge—Is It the Warning We’ve Been Waiting For?

[David Litt]

I’ve been watching the 2025 real estate numbers, and a few trends caught my attention:

• Foreclosure activity is up 5–7% year-over-year, with nearly 187,600 filings in the first half of the year. That’s about 1 in every 758 homes.

• July alone saw a 13% increase compared to last year, the highest monthly jump so far in 2025.

What makes this more interesting—or worrisome—is the uneven geography:

• Alaska (↑55%), Rhode Island (↑51%), Utah and Wyoming (both ↑46%), and Colorado (↑41%) are seeing the sharpest increases.

• Per housing units, states like Nevada, Florida, Maryland, South Carolina, and Illinois are riding the foreclosure wave fastest.

Contrast that with the macro picture:

• Inventory levels are swelling—active home listings are up almost 25% year-over-year—providing more opportunities for buyers.

• Mortgage rates dropped slightly, with 30-year fixed rates nudging down to 6.58%—the lowest point of 2025, but still elevated.

• And in a twist, the Federal Reserve is stuck between supporting housing and fending off inflation fueled by booming AI investments.

So here’s my investor brain asking some real questions:

• Are these rises signaling local economic strain—not a national crisis—creating focused opportunities?

• With inventory up and methinks buyers sidelined, are distressed deals becoming more hunt-worthy? Or is this where the pitfalls outshine the gains?

• Does this mean we need to double down on local median-home-price health, employment data, and insurance vulnerabilities (especially in storm-prone places)?

I’d love to hear from y’all:

• Are you seeing more foreclosure activity—or opportunities—in your market right now?

• How are you reacting—leaning into data to go deeper, or holding off until you see broader clarity?