A dearth of vacant properties means potential buyers may need to look for other opportunities in their search for a home, according to a new report from Attom.
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The nation’s overall vacancy rate stands at 1.3%, the real estate analytics and data provider said in its third-quarter analysis of empty units and abandoned foreclosure properties across the U.S.
“It remains very hard to find an empty home for prospective buyers in most regions,” said Attom CEO Rob Barber in a press release. “In 19 states, the home vacancy rate is below 1%, creating a bottleneck that is helping to keep prices high.”
The current share held steady, remaining at the same level
At the same time, of the 259,666 properties currently in foreclosure across the U.S., approximately 3.3%, representing 8,482 homes, were abandoned and considered “zombies,” Attom also reported.
The zombie share inched down from 3.4% recorded both three months earlier and over the same quarterly period in 2025.
Barber previously suggested the stable share of zombie properties reflected a normalization of foreclosure numbers. While a low number of vacancies is keeping costs elevated, home buyers may find some relief
Zombie stress in Midwest
The foreclosed zombie share grew in 21 states between the second and third quarters compared to 38 in its previous report.
Out of the 140 markets with sufficient data, the cities with the highest zombie rates were concentrated in the Midwest. Abandoned units were most prevalent in Youngstown, Ohio, which saw a 12.1% zombie share relative to foreclosures in process. It was followed by Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Baltimore, both of which came in with near-equal shares of 11.6% and 11.5%, respectively.
The Rust Belt cities of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Akron, Ohio, rounded out the top five with shares of 11.1% and 10.5%.
The largest zombie growth rates, though, appeared in Kentucky, Colorado and Arizona.
In looking at overall vacancy levels, the Midwestern metropolis of Indianapolis had two ZIP codes among the top five with the highest share of empty homes at 30% or more.
The highest vacancy rates by state, though, were located in other parts of the country, led by Oklahoma, Kansas, Alabama, West Virginia and Missouri, which all came in between 2.1% and 2.4%.
The vacancy rate among institutional investors exceeded the overall share by more than double, according to Attom. Of the 24.9 million homes owned by large investors, 3.5%, equal to 879,532 properties, currently stand vacant. Indiana leads the U.S. in vacancy share within the investment community at 7%.
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