Household financial stress may have led to more homeowners facing property foreclosures in the first half of the year, as lenders launched foreclosure proceedings over 20% more than in the first half of 2025. 

More than 227,500 properties fell into some facet of the foreclosure process in the first six months of 2026, up 21% from the same period last year and 28% from the first six months of 2024, according to data compiled by the property research firm Attom.

In July alone, foreclosures were up 10% from the same month last year as financial strain grows on American households, according to Attom.

Attom CEO Rob Barber said in a press release that foreclosure activity overall has remained low by historical standards and the market has remained resilient despite the spike in foreclosures. But that may be cold comfort for 38% of U.S. households, who see their financial life as “worse than they expected,” according to a January poll conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education. More than 40% reported that their financial situations were about what they expected, while just 16% saw them improve in 2026 compared with a year earlier. 

"The increase in foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures compared to last year shows that financial pressures remain a factor for some homeowners," Barber said in a release. 

According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its financial stress forecast report tallied 6.7 in the second quarter, the third straight quarter in the mid-6 range, “confirming that U.S. households remain locked into an extended period of elevated financial strain.” 

Debt, tight cash flow and limited financial flexibility are now fixtures in American households rather than a temporary situation, according to NFCC, and far above the post-pandemic financial strain low of 3.5 in 2021.

Idaho saw the biggest spike in foreclosures in the first half of this year, with a 59% increase, followed by Colorado with 57%, Georgia with 52%, North Carolina with 47% and Mississippi with 45%, according to Attom. And in July alone, 1 in every 3,603 housing units nationwide fell into foreclosure, according to Attom, with Nevada, South Carolina and Florida posting the highest foreclosure rates.

On the opposite end of the real estate spectrum, though, delinquency rates on mortgages backed by commercial properties fell in the second quarter, including to 4.82% for CMBS loan balances at 30 or more days late, down from 5.21% a year earlier, and 1.19% for life company loans, down from nearly 1.5% a year before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The drop in late payments among commercial property owners comes as lending for CRE jumped to the highest level in five years during the first quarter of 2026, CBRE reported, increasing from 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 1.5% at the end of the first quarter. Average loan size also grew year-over-year, by 14%, according to CBRE.