Foreclosure activity is climbing again, and the numbers are big enough to get your attention.
ATTOM Data Solutions reported roughly 380,000 properties with foreclosure filings in 2025, the highest annual total since 2019.
That's a jump of about 14% over 2024, and it ends a long stretch where foreclosures sat near historic lows.
Before you panic, put the number in context.
During the 2010 housing crash, filings topped 2.8 million in a single year.
Today's pace is closer to normal than to crisis — but "normal" still means hundreds of thousands of families losing homes, and the trend line is pointing up.
Homeowners who bought at the top of the market with adjustable-rate mortgages are seeing payments reset higher.
Property taxes and insurance premiums have climbed sharply in many states, and those costs are often escrowed into monthly payments — meaning a budget that worked two years ago may not work now.
Government-backed mortgages made up a disproportionate share of new foreclosure starts in late 2025, which tracks with first-time buyers who stretched to afford a home and have thinner savings cushions.
If you have an FHA loan and your payment jumped, you're in the group most worth watching.
Foreclosure starts rose fastest in states with high insurance costs and storm exposure — Florida, Texas, and parts of the Southeast — as well as in Midwest markets where job growth has cooled.
Meanwhile, several Northeast states saw barely any increase at all.
If you're behind on payments, the single worst move is going silent.
Lenders don't want your house — they want the loan performing.
Most offer forbearance, loan modification, or repayment plans, and you generally have to ask before the process reaches a certain stage.
Once a foreclosure sale is scheduled, your options shrink fast, but they don't vanish.
Nonprofit housing counselors approved by HUD offer free help and can negotiate on your behalf — and yes, that service is genuinely free.
Search "HUD-approved housing counselor" plus your state to find one.
If you're not behind yet but worried, run the numbers now.
Add up your escrow increases, insurance, and any variable-rate resets, then compare that to your take-home pay.
A payment that eats more than about a third of your income is a warning sign worth acting on before you miss a month.
One more thing worth knowing: scams spike when foreclosure news spikes.
Anyone asking for an upfront fee to "save" your home, or telling you to sign over the deed "temporarily," is almost certainly running a con. **Our take:** A five-year high sounds scary, but this is a slow, uneven climb — not a repeat of 2009.
The homeowners who get hurt most are the ones who wait too long to call their lender or a free counselor.
Final Thoughts
If your payment has crept up, make the call now instead of after the first missed month.