Want a Discount on Your Next Home? Realtor.com®'s New Report Says Look at Foreclosures

The Median Foreclosed Home Sells for 27% Below Estimated Value — and Gets 26% More Views Than a Typical Listing

AUSTIN, Texas, July 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Buyers looking for a discount may want to take a closer look at foreclosed homes. According to a new Realtor.com^® report on the state of the foreclosure market, the median foreclosed home sold for 27.2% below its estimated value, as foreclosure listings climbed to their highest level in 6 years.

Foreclosure listings made up 1.3% of all homes for sale in April 2026, up from a recent low and approaching the 1.7% share seen in April 2020. The report also finds that foreclosure listings are drawing more attention than the average listing, getting 26.5% more page views in the first half of 2026, even as they sit on the market an average of 11 days longer.

"Foreclosures are normalizing, not accelerating into a crisis," said Joel Berner, Senior Economist at Realtor.com^®. "This rise is happening because pandemic-era forbearance and moratorium programs fully wound down in 2024, and the homeowners feeling it most are the ones who bought at peak prices and are now squeezed by rising insurance, taxes, and adjustable-rate payments. Even with that pressure, we're looking at a return to 2019 norms, not anything close to the Great Financial Crisis."

When a foreclosed home fails to sell at auction, it becomes Real Estate Owned, or REO, property, often listed on an MLS by the lender, who prices it to sell quickly. The median REO discount has ranged from roughly 20% to 35% since 2018. The high end of that range was reached in 2022 and 2023, when the frenzy of pandemic-era buying inflated automated home valuations and made the discount look larger than it was. As price growth has flattened in 2025 and 2026, the discount has settled back to a more typical 27.2%.

The metros carrying the highest share of foreclosure listings tend to be more affordable ones, where buyers entered homeownership with thinner margins.

Top Metros by Foreclosure Share of Listings, June 2026

With one exception, every metro on this list sits below the national median list price. Three Alabama markets appear in part because of a state-level legal wrinkle: Alabama's statutory right of redemption allows a prior owner to reclaim their property after a foreclosure sale by reimbursing the buyer. That risk keeps auction bidders away and results in more REOs.

REO listings attract plenty of attention, but still generally take longer to sell. The slower pace reflects the product: REO listings had 30.4% fewer photos and descriptions 33% shorter than those of standard listings. Most sell as-is, meaning buyers absorb any needed repairs. Buyers can inspect the interior and use conventional financing, but the condition and limited marketing materials mean many take longer to commit — or they decide to walk away because of the higher level of uncertainty.

"In a market where affordability is still the dominant challenge, foreclosures offer a path to a meaningful discount," said Joel Berner, Senior Economist at Realtor.com^®. "The process takes patience, but for buyers who are prepared and can navigate the challenges of buying this type of home, the savings are real."

Appendix - Top 100 Metros

Methodology
Foreclosure sales are identified as those with the REO sale flag in Realtor.com deed data. Foreclosure listings are identified as those with the REO flag in Realtor.com listing data. AVM valuations are computed by taking the median of each property's valuations within the month that the home sold, and the sale price is compared against the valuation to compute the discount. Listing performance metrics are computed by comparing the statistics for each listing against the medians for that listing's property type and zip code if there are at least 50 listings in the zip code or metro area if there are not 50 listings in the zip code. The difference between the individual listing's metrics and the local median is computed and the median of those differences is taken to determine the overall difference between foreclosure listings and typical listings.

About Realtor.com^®
For over 30 years, Realtor.com^® has connected buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 real estate site REALTOR® agents recommend, Realtor.com^® delivers consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.

Media contact: Emily Do, press@realtor.com

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SOURCE Realtor.com