Foreclosures Are Rising. What Does That Mean for Arizona Homeowners?

If you’ve seen a headline lately about foreclosures going up, you may have wondered whether the housing market is heading somewhere it’s been before.

It’s a fair question, especially for anyone who remembers what happened between 2008 and 2011.

So I went to the source. Here’s what the latest numbers actually show, what I think they mean, and what I’d want you to know whether you own a home here, are thinking about selling, or are watching the market as a buyer.

I’m Monica Condomitti, a Luxury Real Estate Advisor with MC Luxury Real Estate at Coldwell Banker, serving Rio Verde and North Scottsdale, Arizona.

Yes, Foreclosure Activity Is Up

The headlines aren’t wrong. ATTOM, a national property data company that tracks foreclosure filings across the country, reports that activity is higher than it was a year ago.

• Nationally, 40,277 properties had a foreclosure filing in August 2026, up 13% from August 2025.
• Completed foreclosures, when the lender takes the home back, were up 42% from a year earlier.
• In Arizona, 5,412 properties had a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2026, up about 29% from the first half of 2025.
• In August, Arizona had the fourth-highest number of completed foreclosures of any state (296), and the Phoenix metro area had 186, fourth among the country’s large metro areas.

Those increases are real, and I don’t want to brush them aside. Behind every one of those numbers is a household going through something hard.

But Rising Isn’t the Same as a Crisis

Here’s the part the headlines often leave out.

A percentage can sound dramatic when it starts from a low number. Foreclosure activity fell to historic lows during the pandemic years, when relief programs paused many foreclosures. Some of today’s increase is the market returning to more typical levels.

Look at the bigger picture:

• In 2025, about 367,000 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing. That’s 87% below the peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010.
• It was also 25% below 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
• In 2010, foreclosure filings touched 2.23% of all U.S. housing units. In 2025, it was 0.26%.

In ATTOM’s own words, today’s uptick looks “driven more by market recalibration than widespread homeowner distress.”

Closer to home, about 1 in every 3,265 Arizona housing units had a foreclosure filing in August. The counties with the highest rates in the state were Pinal, Cochise, Gila and Yuma. Maricopa County, where Rio Verde, North Scottsdale and Fountain Hills are located, wasn’t among them.

It also helps to know what’s being counted. A “foreclosure filing” includes a default notice, a scheduled auction, or a bank repossession. A filing is often the beginning of a process, not the end of one, and not every filing ends with the home being taken back.

My Read on It

If you were my client and asked me whether this is 2008 all over again, I’d tell you no, and here’s why.

The numbers are rising from historic lows, not from a crisis. They’re still below where they were before the pandemic, and a small fraction of what we saw during the last housing crisis. ATTOM itself points to homeowners’ equity and more disciplined lending as reasons today looks different.

That doesn’t mean I’d ignore it. I’d watch it, the way I watch inventory and prices, without letting a headline make your decisions for you.

What It Means If You Own a Home Here

For most homeowners, nothing changes. Foreclosures rising somewhere else in the country don’t change the value of your home on their own. What matters most is what’s happening in your own community: which homes are competing with yours, and what’s actually selling.

If you’re thinking about selling, I’d start with those local numbers, not national headlines. I shared how I’d prepare in Thinking About Selling Your Rio Verde Home?

If you’re having trouble keeping up with payments, please call your lender early. The earlier that conversation happens, the more options there usually are. A HUD-approved housing counselor can also help you understand your choices.

What It Means If You’re Buying

I wouldn’t expect a wave of foreclosure bargains in Rio Verde or North Scottsdale. The numbers are small compared with the overall market, and the state’s highest foreclosure rates are in other counties.

If a foreclosed home does catch your eye, go in with clear expectations. These homes are often sold as-is, the condition can be harder to know, and the process and timelines can differ from a typical sale. A careful inspection and a clear understanding of the contract matter even more.

For most buyers, the bigger opportunity right now is the one I wrote about in More Choices, More Opportunity: more homes to choose from and more room for thoughtful negotiation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Arizona facing a foreclosure crisis?

Based on the latest data, no. Arizona’s foreclosure activity is up from a year ago, but nationally, filings remain below pre-pandemic levels and far below the 2010 peak. I’d describe it as a market returning to more normal levels, and something worth watching.

Are foreclosures rising in the Phoenix area?

Yes. The Phoenix metro area had 186 completed foreclosures in August 2026, among the highest of large U.S. metro areas. In Arizona, the counties with the highest foreclosure rates that month were Pinal, Cochise, Gila and Yuma.

Should I wait for foreclosure deals before buying?

I wouldn’t plan around it. Foreclosures are a small share of the market, especially in communities like Rio Verde and North Scottsdale. It makes more sense to buy when the right home and the right timing come together for you.

The Numbers Will Keep Changing

The figures in this article come from ATTOM’s August 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report (released September 17, 2026), its state-by-state foreclosure rates for August 2026, its Mid-Year 2026 Foreclosure Market Report (released July 16, 2026), and its Year-End 2025 Foreclosure Market Report. New reports come out every month, and I’ll keep watching them for you.

If you’d like to know where your own home stands, my Instant Home Estimate is a simple place to start. And if you’d like to talk through what any of this means for your plans, I’d be honored to be part of your next adventure.

Monica Condomitti
Luxury Real Estate Advisor
MC Luxury Real Estate at Coldwell Banker
Rio Verde / North Scottsdale, Arizona
www.MonicaCondomitti.com
480-822-9553

Featured image created with AI for illustrative purposes; it does not depict a specific property or community.