More Bank-Owned Homes Are Coming to Market in 2026 — Here’s Where

Foreclosure Activity Is Climbing — Here's What It Means for Buyers in 2026

The Default Specialist Series | KW Default Solutions

For most of the last few years, buyers heard the same thing on repeat: not enough inventory, too much competition, no room to negotiate. That story is starting to change — and the latest data from ATTOM tells you exactly where the opportunity is opening up.

WHAT THE DATA SHOWS

According to ATTOM's Q1 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure starts rose to 82,631 properties in the first quarter — up 7% from the prior quarter and 20% year-over-year. Foreclosure starts are a leading indicator of distress, which means this isn't a one-month blip. It's a trend that's been building.

California led the nation with 7,985 foreclosure starts in Q1 2026, behind only Texas and Florida. Nationally, one in every 1,211 housing units had a foreclosure filing during the quarter (ATTOM, Q1 2026).

The momentum carried forward, too. ATTOM's April 2026 report showed completed foreclosures (REOs) up 42% year-over-year, with California posting the second-highest REO count in the country at 515 (ATTOM, April 2026).

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR BUYERS

More distressed inventory means more options — and often, more room to negotiate. Bank-owned and pre-foreclosure properties frequently sell below comparable retail listings, and motivated sellers and lenders are far more open to deals than they were eighteen months ago.

But here's the catch: the best distressed inventory rarely sits on Zillow. It moves through channels most buyers never see — and it moves fast. The buyer who's connected to those channels wins. The one refreshing public portals gets the leftovers.

WHERE WE COME IN

KW Default Solutions specializes in default and REO disposition. That means we're plugged directly into the inventory pipeline that most buyers and even most agents never access. Whether you're a first-time buyer looking for a deal or an investor scaling a portfolio, we can get you in front of opportunities before they hit the open market.

The data is clear: distressed inventory is rising, and California is at the center of it. The question is whether you'll be positioned to act on it.

Call us first: 888-980-9820
KWDefaultSolutions.com

Source: ATTOM U.S. Foreclosure Market Reports, Q1 2026 and April 2026. ATTOM is a leading provider of property data and real estate analytics covering 99% of the U.S. population.

Joe Iuliucci