Vacant Homes and 'Zombie Foreclosures' Edge Lower as Housing Inventory Stays Scarce

The share of vacant properties and foreclosed “zombie” homes has dipped modestly across the United States, even as the housing market remains undersupplied.

A new report from real estate analytics firm ATTOM found that vacant properties — meaning all unoccupied homes regardless of ownership status or foreclosure stage — made up 1.2% of U.S. housing in the fourth quarter of 2026. That was down from 1.3% in both the previous quarter and the same quarter a year earlier.

ATTOM said 269,195 properties were in foreclosure during the fourth quarter, and 8,040 of them, or 3%, were classified as “zombies” — homes abandoned by owners before the foreclosure process was completed.

That rate was slightly lower than a year earlier, when 3.3% of properties in foreclosure were considered zombies.

Although the national share of zombie foreclosures declined, 29 states recorded increases in zombie properties from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2026. Even so, vacant and abandoned homes still represent only a small slice of the country’s housing stock.

“The fourth-quarter data showed modest declines in both vacancy and zombie foreclosure rates nationwide,” said Rob Barber, chief executive of ATTOM. “While trends vary from state to state, vacant and abandoned homes continue to represent a relatively small share of the nation's housing stock.”

The biggest quarter-to-quarter increases in zombie properties were reported in Wisconsin, up 20.9% to 52; Maryland, up 19.2% to 180; Pennsylvania, up 17.2% to 252; and Texas, up 15.7% to 192.

The largest declines were in Arizona, down 34.9% to 56; Florida, down 19.6% to 2,220; California, down 10.4% to 267; South Carolina, down 9.6% to 141; and Oklahoma, down 8.9% to 82.

Even with fewer vacant homes, the national housing supply remains tight.

Research from Realtor.com® released in March estimated that the U.S. housing supply gap has exceeded 4 million units.

The shortage is reflected in rising home prices in recent years and in the growing age of first-time buyers. According to the National Association of Realtors®, the median age of first-time homebuyers reached 40 in 2025, up sharply from 33 in 2020.

The shortage of needed housing has built up after more than a decade of home construction falling short of demand.

New residential building remained sluggish this fall, with home starts in September down 5.2% from the prior month and 7.4% from the same month a year earlier. Home completions in September fell 2.2% month over month and 14% year over year, according to Realtor.com data.

Although many builders are offering discounts and incentives to move inventory, some would-be buyers are existing homeowners reluctant to give up their lower mortgage rates, along with first-time buyers who are wary of entering the market at current borrowing costs.

A zombie property may look like a bargain for buyers hoping to get into homeownership, but experts say caution is essential.

These homes often need significant repairs and can involve lengthy complications over ownership, insurance, and tax issues.

“For the right buyer, these properties can create an opportunity to bring a neglected home back into use,” real estate investor Jesse Wyatt told Realtor.com. “But there is a big difference between seeing potential and rushing into a mess. A buyer should never assume that an empty property is available, abandoned by the lender, or free of complications.”