Foreclosure filings keep climbing as bank repossessions surge
Sun Belt leads in foreclosure concentration
State-level data shows foreclosure pressure is far from evenly distributed. South Carolina posted the worst foreclosure rate in the country in August, with one filing for every 1,547 housing units — more than twice the national rate.
Nevada followed at one in every 1,920 units, with Florida (1 in 2,397), Texas (1 in 2,445), and Maryland (1 in 2,530) rounding out the five worst-performing states.
At the metro level, South Carolina’s Columbia recorded one filing per 1,232 housing units, the highest rate among metropolitan areas with populations of at least 200,000.
Punta Gorda, Florida (1 in 1,249), Spartanburg, South Carolina (1 in 1,262), Fayetteville, North Carolina (1 in 1,458), and Charleston, South Carolina (1 in 1,501) followed closely.
Not all markets are moving in the same direction, however. Several major metros posted year-over-year declines in foreclosure starts, including Cleveland, Ohio (down from 281 starts in August 2025 to 175 in August 2026), Washington, D.C. (from 364 to 227), and Providence, Rhode Island (from 88 to 55).
