{
  "id": 17289465,
  "title": "Just before Halloween, a new report reveals a frightening trend in America’s housing market",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/just-before-halloween-a-new-report-reveals-a-frightening-trend-in",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-30T20:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91633064/just-before-halloween-a-new-report-reveals-a-frightening-trend-in-americas-housing-market"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the final quarter of the year, a new report has shed light on a concerning trend in America's housing market. According to ATTOM, a real estate analytics firm, the percentage of homes abandoned during the foreclosure process fell to 3% in the last quarter, a slight improvement from 3.3% in the same period last year. A \"zombie\" property is a foreclosed home that is left vacant and often neglected, which can negatively impact surrounding areas and property values. The report revealed that there were 269,195 properties going through the foreclosure process, and 3% of them, or 8,040 homes, qualified as zombie properties. This number is slightly lower than the same time last year. Additionally, the number of homes sitting vacant nationwide dropped to 1.2%, down from 1.3% in the same period last year. Zombie properties are not common and often result from a homeowner misunderstanding the foreclosure process. They can be identified by their lack of activity, lights, and overgrown vegetation. While these properties can attract pests, crime, and vandalism, they remain relatively rare, accounting for a small share of the nation's housing stock. However, zombie properties can be a significant issue for banks and neighborhoods. The report's CEO, Rob Barber, noted that while trends vary by state, vacant and abandoned homes still represent a small portion of the housing market. Notably, 29 states saw an increase in zombie foreclosures last quarter, with Wisconsin, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, and North Carolina experiencing the largest increases among states with at least 50 qualifying zombie homes. In contrast, Arizona, Florida, California, South Carolina, and Oklahoma saw declines in their share of zombie properties during the same period. Baltimore, Indianapolis, and Carthage, New York had the highest rates of abandoned homes in the foreclosure process. Although zombie properties can be a headache, they are a minor concern compared to the more pressing issue of high mortgage rates, which are currently deterring people from entering the real estate market.",
  "summary": "Something in the real estate market just got a little less spooky this holiday season. Out of all residential properties in the U.S., the number of homes abandoned during the foreclosure process dropped to 3% in the last quarter, an improvement from 3.3% measured over the same time period last year. The data comes from the real estate analytics firm ATTOM’s latest Vacant Property and Zombie…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}