Zombie Foreclosures Are Creeping Up in These 5 States

The growing number of homes for sale has shed light on a persistent issue in many neighborhoods: the rise of vacant properties, also known as zombie homes.

Across the U.S., 1.4 million residential properties are vacant, according to a new report by ATTOM, a firm providing property data and real estate analytics.

Colorado leads the U.S. with the biggest jump in zombie foreclosures—up 115%, from 27 to 58. Washington state is right behind with a 114% jump, from 29 zombie properties to 62. Iowa is up 84%, from 64 to 118 zombie properties; North Carolina increased 80%, from 50 to 90 zombie properties; and Oklahoma is up 72%, from 43 to 74.

The states’ overall zombie foreclosure totals may seem low, but the high percentage jump is raising red flags.

“Vacant and zombie homes can hurt the value of surrounding properties and start a negative spiral in a local housing market,” says Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. 

ATTOM’s data found 222,318 properties were in the process of foreclosure in the third quarter of 2025. Of those pre-foreclosure homes, about 3.38% were considered zombie properties, meaning they’ve been abandoned by their owner. This number is a tick higher than the previous quarter and higher than the same time in 2024, when the rate was 3.14%.

For the report, ATTOM looked at county tax assessor data for 104.2 million residential properties for vacancy, broken down by foreclosure status and owner-occupancy status in the third quarter of 2025. Only metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, counties with at least 50,000 residential properties, and ZIP codes with at least 1,000 residential properties were included in the analysis.

In the span of about three months, the number of zombie properties rose in 23 states. For the most part, the change was small—in the single digit. However, states such as Colorado and Washington, with at least 50 zombie properties, saw the biggest year-over-year increase in the rate of pre-foreclosure homes.

The rise in zombie foreclosures comes as active inventory climbed 20.9% year over year. There were roughly 1.1 million homes for sale during the week of Aug. 16, according to the Realtor.com® Weekly Housing Trends report.

Meanwhile, mortgage interest rates stayed level at 6.58% for the week ending Aug. 21, according to Freddie Mac.

State snapshot

Colorado is currently seeing a July median list price of $599,000 with more than 32,276 active listings. Foreclosure listings range from properties such as a $600,000 home with six bedrooms and four baths to a 1956 home listed for $87,616.

Washington state has a median list price of $659,475 with more than 24,000 active listings. One of the most expensive foreclosed properties is in the heart of Seattle, a listing for $2,310,000.

“Builders, investors and ambitious buyers, this is the property you were looking for last year and never found,” states the listing for the four-bedroom, three-bath home.

Listing photos of the foreclosed home reveal the overgrown landscaping and a deteriorating roof. The home sits in a neighborhood with updated homes right across the street.

Iowa, which comes in third with the biggest jump of zombie foreclosures, has a median list price of $289,938 and more than 10,000 active listings. North Carolina has a median list price of $424,950 with more than 42,500 active listings.

Home shoppers looking in North Carolina will find many foreclosed homes priced above $1 million. Some are listed as new construction or move-in ready.

Oklahoma rounds out the top five states seeing the biggest jump in zombie foreclosures. The median list price is $304,995 with more than 15,000 active listings.

There is a bright spot for some of the states with a high number of zombie foreclosures. The report found a year-over-year decrease in zombie rates among states with at least 50 zombie properties. Georgia is down 25%, from 85 zombie properties to 64; New Jersey is down 21%, from 230 to 181; Illinois is down 17%, from 780 to 646; and New York is down 10%, from 1,630 to 1,461.

“While there remain some markets with worryingly high rates of vacancies, as a whole it appears that the nation’s buyers are quickly filling homes that become available,” says Barber.