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New data has revealed that US foreclosure activity surged in October, marking the eighth consecutive month of increases.

Getting into it: According to property data firm ATTOM, 36,766 properties across the United States had a foreclosure filing in October 2025 (including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions). This marks a 3% increase from September and a 19% jump from October 2024, continuing a trend of monthly and yearly increases that began earlier this year. Most notably, foreclosure starts, which represent new filings, rose to 25,129 properties, a 6% rise month-over-month and a 20% spike year-over-year.

Meanwhile, completed foreclosures (REOs) climbed to 3,872 properties, up 2% from the prior month and 32% higher than the same time last year. While these numbers reflect clear upward momentum, ATTOM’s CEO, Rob Barber, said that this is likely a “gradual normalization” rather than a housing crash and noted that activity still sits well below the levels seen during the 2008 financial crisis.

Some states, however, are bearing a heavier burden. Florida, South Carolina, and Illinois posted the highest foreclosure rates in the country. In Florida, for instance, one in every 1,829 homes had a foreclosure filing in October. Looking at metropolitan areas, Florida cities dominated the rankings: Tampa topped the list with one in every 1,373 housing units in foreclosure (the worst rate in the US) followed by Jacksonville and Orlando. Other hard-hit metros included Riverside, California, and Cleveland, Ohio, which shows that foreclosure pressure is geographically widespread and not confined to a single region.

Despite the uptick, Barber offered a somewhat reassuring tone, noting that foreclosure volumes are adjusting from historically low levels seen during and immediately after the pandemic. “Some homeowners continue to navigate higher housing and borrowing costs,” he said, but added that the data doesn’t yet point to a systemic crisis.