Home foreclosure procedures are rising throughout the nation. In February, one in every 4,279 housing units had a foreclosure filing, but in some cities the rates were much higher: one in every 1,478 units in Columbia, SC and one in every 1,938 in Orlando, FL. In some states, completed foreclosures rose 46% or more.

"Lenders started the foreclosure process on 22,575 U.S. properties in February 2024, up 4 percent from last month and up 11 percent from a year ago," according to ATTOM's U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. "There were a total of 32,938 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – down 1 percent from last month but up 8 percent from a year ago."

The state with the highest number of foreclosure starts in February was Florida (2,732), closely followed by California (2,730) and Texas (2,694) along with New York (1,289) and Ohio (1,097). By major metro area, New York led, followed by Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. States with at least 50 or more completed foreclosures (real estate owned properties) that saw the highest annual increase in February included South Carolina (up 51%), Missouri (up 50%), Pennsylvania (up 46%), Texas (up 7%) and Indiana (up 0.8%). The cities with the highest number of REOs were Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, and Detroit.