The number of empty U.S. homes stayed relatively flat in the third quarter of 2025, even as abandoned foreclosure properties — so-called “zombies” — ticked higher, underscoring resilience in housing demand despite lingering stress pockets, according to new data from ATTOM.
Roughly 1.39 million residential properties, equal to 1.3% of the nation’s housing stock, sat vacant as of September 2025, ATTOM said Thursday in its quarterly Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report. That share has barely budged for more than three years, even as mortgage rates and affordability challenges have cooled buyer activity.
The report, based on public property records and monthly vacancy updates, found that 222,318 homes were in foreclosure proceedings in the third quarter. About 7,500 of those — or 3.38% — had already been abandoned by owners. That marked a slight increase from 3.30% in the prior quarter and 3.14% a year earlier.
“Vacant and zombie homes can hurt the value of surrounding properties and start a negative spiral in a local housing market,” ATTOM Chief Executive Officer Rob Barber said. “While we’ve seen the rate of zombie homes tick up a tiny bit this quarter, the overall rate of vacant homes and homes in the foreclosure process has remained remarkably steady.”
Regional Trends
Zombie foreclosure levels rose in 23 states quarter-over-quarter but only modestly. Colorado and Washington posted the sharpest annual increases, more than doubling their totals from a year ago, while Iowa, North Carolina and Oklahoma also saw notable gains. At the other end, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois and New York recorded some of the steepest drops.
Overall vacancy rates remained lowest in the Northeast. New Hampshire, Vermont and New Jersey each had vacancy rates below 0.55%, compared with more than 2% in Oklahoma, Kansas and Alabama.
Metro Markets
Large metro areas generally fared better than the national average. Of the 135 metros analyzed, 57% posted zombie foreclosure rates below the 3.38% national benchmark. Still, concentrations remained high in parts of the Midwest. Wichita, Kansas, topped the list with 12.7% of its foreclosure pipeline sitting vacant, followed by Peoria, Illinois, and several Ohio cities including Youngstown and Cleveland.
By contrast, Nashville, Tennessee, reported no zombie properties, while markets such as Atlantic City, Provo and Raleigh all came in under 1%.
Investor-Owned Stock
Investor holdings proved more vulnerable to vacancy. Of the 24.9 million investor-owned homes nationwide, 3.6% — or 882,336 — were vacant in the quarter. Indiana and Illinois had the highest vacancy rates among that group, while New Hampshire, Vermont and Idaho had the lowest.
Zip Code Hotspots
Zombie activity was most concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods. Los Angeles’ 91001 zip code led the nation with more than 80% of its foreclosure pipeline abandoned. Peoria, Indianapolis, Tampa and Cleveland also ranked among the highest-risk pockets.
Despite localized trouble spots, Barber said the data shows a housing market still characterized by steady demand. “As a whole it appears that the nation’s buyers are quickly filling homes that become available,” he said.
