Lenders filed the formal paperwork to begin foreclosure on 25,894 properties nationwide in August, a 7% increase from the same month a year earlier. The figure comes from ATTOM, the property-data firm that has tracked foreclosure filings across the country for close to two decades, and it marks the first step in a process that, for most homeowners, still has room to be stopped before a house is lost.
Foreclosure Starts Rise To 25,894 In August
ATTOM’s August 2026 Foreclosure Market Report recorded 25,894 foreclosure starts nationally, up 7% from August of the prior year. That figure sits inside a broader total of 40,277 properties with some foreclosure filing during the month, itself up 13% year over year, and alongside 5,794 completed foreclosures, or bank repossessions, which rose 42% annually, according to the same report. All three measures point the same direction: more homeowners entered some stage of the foreclosure process in August than did a year ago.
Before a notice becomes a filing: ATTOM counts the foreclosures that already started; it does not track the property-tax freezes or the circuit-breaker credit that can lower a housing bill before a missed payment turns into one. See both inside The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit.
The CEO’s Caveat: Still Below Historical Norms
Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, said in the same report that overall foreclosure volumes remain well below historical norms, a caveat that puts the 7% increase in context: the rate is climbing off a relatively low base rather than approaching the levels seen during the last major housing downturn. That framing does not change what a 7% rise means for the tens of thousands of individual households behind the number, but it does distinguish a gradually worsening trend from a crisis-level spike.
What A Foreclosure Start Actually Means For A Homeowner
A foreclosure start is a formal notice, not an eviction: it opens a legal process that, depending on the state, can still be halted through a loan modification, a repayment plan, a short sale or a reinstatement of the loan before a home is lost. The single largest asset most older homeowners hold is equity built up in their house over years or decades, and a foreclosure that reaches completion erases that equity along with the home itself, which is why the period right after a start notice arrives is the highest-leverage moment to act.
ATTOM’s August count of 25,894 new starts is more than four times its count of 5,794 completed foreclosures, or bank repossessions, for the same month, a gap consistent with the fact that a start notice is only the opening step of a process that, when it plays out fully, typically runs months rather than weeks. That gap does not mean every stalled case resolves in the homeowner’s favor, but it does mean a start notice is a warning with room left to respond to, not a final outcome already decided.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development funds free or low-cost counseling through HUD-approved housing counselors nationwide, reachable through a toll-free line at (800) 569-4287 or an online search tool, according to HUD’s foreclosure-avoidance guidance. That guidance lists contacting the lender immediately and getting HUD-approved counseling among its core steps, alongside a warning to avoid for-profit foreclosure-rescue companies that charge upfront fees for help a HUD-approved counselor provides at no cost.
A Rising Rate, And A Prevention Window That Hasn’t Changed
ATTOM’s report also breaks the 25,894 starts down by state, and three states, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida, posted the highest foreclosure rates in the country in August. What has not changed alongside the rising national number is the sequence a homeowner facing a new notice can still follow: contact the lender, request the loss-mitigation options available under the loan, and bring in a HUD-approved counselor before a filing moves further along, per the same HUD guidance cited above. Both the state-level breakdown and the national count come from ATTOM’s same August report, so a homeowner in one of the three highest-rate states is looking at a local risk sitting on top of the same 7% national increase described here, not a separate or unrelated trend.
The Housing Bill Behind A Rising Foreclosure Count
ATTOM’s 25,894 foreclosure starts and 7% annual increase describe how many homeowners entered the process in August, but the report says nothing about the property-tax relief or utility-bill help that can lower a housing cost before a missed mortgage payment turns into a formal filing. That gap is a separate, ongoing task from responding to a notice once one arrives.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit walks through the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and heating, cooling and home-repair help, logging each request in its application log to keep a paper trail once one is filed.
Read the heating and cooling help in The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit.
This article was produced with AI assistance and checked against the primary sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
