The U.S. housing shortage continues to limit the number of homes available to buyers, even as the number of so-called “zombie homes” linked to abandoned foreclosures declines. Just 1.3% of residential properties across the country were vacant in the third quarter, highlighting how little unused housing supply is available.
The vacancy rate remained unchanged from both the second quarter of 2026 and the same period in 2025, according to a new report from ATTOM, a real estate data and analytics provider.
Of the 104.6 million residential properties nationwide, 259,666 were in some stage of foreclosure during the quarter. ATTOM defines a “zombie home” as a property abandoned by its owner before the foreclosure process is completed. There were 8,482 such properties in the third quarter, equal to 3.3% of all homes involved in foreclosure.
That share was slightly lower than the 3.4% recorded in both the previous quarter and the third quarter of last year. While the decline is modest, it suggests that abandoned foreclosure properties are not becoming a larger nationwide problem.
At the same time, the broader housing supply picture remains tight. Distressed and abandoned properties are concentrated in certain communities, but most residential properties across the country remain occupied. As a result, relatively few vacant homes are available to absorb demand from buyers.
“It remains very hard to find an empty home for prospective buyers in most regions,” said Rob Barber, chief executive officer of ATTOM. In 19 states, the residential vacancy rate is below 1%, creating a supply bottleneck that can continue to support elevated home prices.
Zombie Homes Rise in 21 States
The national decline in zombie properties hides significant differences between individual states. Although the overall number fell slightly, zombie properties increased in 21 states between the second and third quarters.
Among states with at least 50 zombie properties, Kentucky recorded the largest increase. Its number of zombie homes jumped 56.8% to 58 properties. Colorado followed with a 30.1% increase to 95, while Arizona recorded a 19.4% rise to 86.
Maryland also saw its zombie inventory increase, climbing 18.9% to 151 properties. Indiana recorded a 17% increase, bringing its total to 344 abandoned properties connected to foreclosure.
Other states moved in the opposite direction. Georgia’s zombie properties declined 22.8% to 78, while Texas recorded a 17.4% decrease to 166.
Ohio, which has one of the larger concentrations of zombie properties, saw its total fall 10.8% to 602. Minnesota declined 10% to 54 properties, while California’s total dropped 8% to 298.
These figures suggest that zombie properties remain primarily a local issue rather than evidence of a broad deterioration across the national housing market. Certain communities continue to face elevated foreclosure-related vacancies, but the national trend remains relatively stable.
Just 19 States Have Vacancy Below 1%
The wider housing vacancy picture remains exceptionally tight across much of the United States. A very small share of residential properties is sitting vacant, limiting the amount of existing housing that could quickly return to the market.
Oklahoma and Kansas recorded the highest overall residential vacancy rates in the third quarter, both at 2.4%. Alabama followed at 2.2%, while West Virginia and Missouri each recorded a 2.1% vacancy rate.
At the other end of the spectrum, New Hampshire had the lowest vacancy rate at just 0.3%. Vermont followed at 0.4%, while New Jersey, Connecticut and Idaho each recorded a rate of 0.5%.
Overall, 19 states had residential vacancy rates below 1%. That level of scarcity can have important consequences for both buyers and sellers because there are fewer existing properties available to satisfy demand.
Vacant homes represent one of the few parts of the existing housing stock that could potentially enter the market without requiring new construction. However, when vacancy remains this low, there is little unused inventory available to ease competition or slow price growth.
Investor-Owned Homes Are More Often Vacant
The vacancy picture becomes different when institutional investors are considered separately. ATTOM found that 879,532 of the 24.9 million residential properties owned by institutional investors were vacant.
That produced a vacancy rate of 3.5%, more than twice the national residential vacancy rate. The difference highlights how ownership structure can influence the availability of housing in individual markets.
Indiana recorded the highest vacancy rate among investor-owned properties at 7%. Illinois followed at 6.2%, while Oklahoma reached 6%. Kansas and Alabama each recorded a rate of 5.9%.
Investor-owned vacancy was much lower in several other states. New Hampshire recorded a rate of 0.9%, followed by Vermont at 1% and Idaho at 1.3%. North Dakota and New Jersey each recorded a 1.5% rate.
The gap is important because the total number of homes in a market does not necessarily equal the number of homes available for sale or occupancy. A property can be vacant without being ready to enter the housing market.
For example, a vacant home may be undergoing renovation, waiting for a foreclosure case to be completed or being held as a long-term investment. It may also be temporarily unavailable for other reasons, meaning that vacancy statistics do not always translate directly into available housing supply.
Midwest Markets Show Higher Zombie Rates
Zombie properties remain particularly concentrated in several Midwestern and older industrial housing markets. These areas can have higher foreclosure activity and older housing stocks, creating conditions where abandoned properties make up a larger share of homes in foreclosure.
Among 140 metropolitan statistical areas with sufficient data, Youngstown, Ohio, recorded the highest zombie rate. About 12.1% of properties in foreclosure were classified as vacant.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, followed with a zombie rate of 11.6%. Baltimore recorded 11.5%, while Fort Wayne, Indiana, reached 11.1%. Akron, Ohio, had a rate of 10.5%.
However, some metropolitan areas reported almost no zombie inventory. Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Huntsville, Alabama, both recorded a zero zombie rate. Trenton, New Jersey, stood at 0.1%, followed by Provo, Utah, at 0.2% and Atlantic City, New Jersey, at 0.4%.
The differences become even more pronounced when the data are examined at the ZIP-code level. Local housing conditions can vary sharply within the same metropolitan area, making national averages less useful for understanding individual neighborhoods.
ZIP code 33708 in St. Petersburg, Florida, recorded the highest zombie rate in the report. About 38.3% of homes in foreclosure in that ZIP code were classified as zombie properties.
ZIP code 88310 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, followed with a rate of 36.7%. Indianapolis ZIP codes 46201 and 46208 recorded zombie rates of 34.1% and 32.6%, respectively.
ZIP code 34652 in New Port Richey, Florida, also recorded a zombie rate of 32.6%. These figures show how concentrated foreclosure-related vacancies can become in individual communities, even when the national trend remains relatively limited.
A Housing Shortage Hiding in Plain Sight
The latest ATTOM data point to two very different conditions within the U.S. housing market. On one side, the country has an extremely limited supply of vacant residential properties. On the other, there is a smaller but highly concentrated group of distressed homes abandoned during foreclosure.
The national zombie-home rate has declined slightly, but that improvement does not resolve the wider supply problem. In fact, the number of abandoned foreclosure properties is too small to make a major difference to national housing availability.
For buyers, the most important question is not simply how many residential properties exist. The bigger issue is how many homes are actually available, properly marketed and priced within reach of households looking to purchase.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important as affordability remains a challenge. With the national vacancy rate holding at 1.3% and falling below 1% in 19 states, buyers have relatively little excess inventory to choose from.
Low vacancy can also contribute to persistent price pressure. When demand remains stronger than available supply, sellers may have more pricing power, particularly in markets where new construction cannot quickly add enough homes.
The latest figures therefore suggest that the U.S. housing market continues to operate with limited inventory. While zombie homes remain a concern in certain communities, they are not driving the national housing picture.
The zombie problem may be shrinking. The U.S. housing shortage is not.
