Weekly Real Estate News
Active U.S. foreclosure inventory rose 37% from a year earlier in September, reaching its highest level since early 2019, even as the overall mortgage delinquency rate remained below comparable pre-pandemic readings, according to a new report from Intercontinental Exchange.
ICE released its September 2026 First Look report October 27. The national delinquency rate rose 12 basis points from August to 3.66%, roughly consistent with normal seasonal movement. It was still 34 basis points below September 2019.
More Foreclosures, but Not a Repeat of the Financial Crisis
Approximately 303,000 properties were in pre-sale foreclosure inventory at September 30, up 82,000 from a year earlier. Foreclosure starts fell about 3% year over year to 40,000, while completed foreclosure sales rose approximately 15% to 8,200. These measures capture different stages of the foreclosure process and should not be conflated.
Seriously delinquent mortgages increased 21% from a year earlier but were down 5% from their February peak. The 1.04% share of mortgages at least 90 days past due was near the 1.06% September average from 2017 through 2019. FHA serious delinquencies have declined 10% since February.
Loans originated in 2022 or later accounted for 43% of September foreclosure starts and 49% of completed foreclosure sales, underscoring the growing role of more recent mortgage vintages in the default pipeline. More than three-quarters of active foreclosures involved loans delinquent for less than 18 months.
Refinancing and Prepayments Remain Slow
Mortgage prepayment speeds fell for a sixth consecutive month. The single-month mortality rate declined to 0.59%, its lowest level since February 2025 and about 20% below a year earlier. Higher borrowing costs continue to discourage refinancing and other prepayment activity.
ICE’s data point to rising servicing workloads and growing foreclosure inventory, but not to a broad return to crisis-era delinquency rates. WRE News covered the prior month’s delinquency report; the new figures reflect September performance.
Source: ICE First Look, October 27, 2026.
