Vacant Residential Property Rate Held Steady at 1.3%
by ATTOM Team
ATTOM, the leading provider of property data, AI-powered analytics, and real estate intelligence solutions, released its first-quarter 2026 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report showing that 1.33% of the residential properties in the United States, or nearly 1.4 million homes, were vacant at the beginning of the year. That was essentially the same rate as the 1.32% rate posted in the previous quarter and in the first quarter of 2025.
The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM — including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data.
Out of the nation’s nearly 104.8 million residential properties, 230,401 were in the process of foreclosure at the time of the report. Of those, 7,540 properties, or 3.27%, were “zombies,” meaning their owners had abandoned them before the end of the foreclosure proceedings. That zombie rate was essentially the same as the prior quarter but down slightly from 3.34% at the same time last year.
“It will come as no surprise to anyone shopping for a home that vacancy rates remain low. That is one reason home prices have continued to rise despite ongoing affordability challenges,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “It is also encouraging for both neighborhoods and the broader market that even among properties in foreclosure, vacancy rates remain relatively low.”
Most states have fewer zombie homes
In 28 states and the District of Columbia, the number of zombie properties fell quarter over quarter.
Among states with at least 50 zombie properties, the largest quarter-over-quarter increases were in:
» Maryland (up 45.6% to 115 zombies)
» South Carolina (up 34% to 130 zombies)
» Oklahoma (up 26.3% to 72 zombies)
» California (up 15.1% to 313 zombies)
» Nevada (up 11.9% to 66 zombies)
The largest quarter-over-quarter drops were in:
» Georgia (down 31.1% to 51 zombies)
» North Carolina (down 25.6% to 61 zombies)
» Kansas (down 23.5% to 62 zombies)
» Texas (down 13.7% to 177 zombies)
» Iowa (down 13.1% to 93 zombies)
Northeast retains lowest vacancy rates
The states with the highest overall home vacancy rates were:
» Oklahoma (2.4%)
» Kansas (2.4%)
» Alabama (2.2%)
» Missouri (2.1%)
» West Virginia (2.1%)
The lowest vacancy rates were in:
» New Hampshire (0.3%)
» Vermont (0.4%)
» New Jersey (0.5%)
» Connecticut (0.5%)
» Idaho (0.6%)
Big investors have more empty homes
Properties held by institutional investors, rather than individual owners, were more likely to be vacant. Of the roughly 25.2 million institutional investor-owned homes, about 3.5% were vacant.
The states with the highest vacancy rates for investor-owned properties were:
» Indiana (7.2%)
» Illinois (6.2%)
» Alabama (6%)
» Kansas (6%)
» Oklahoma (5.9%)
The lowest vacancy rates for investor-owned properties were in:
» New Hampshire (0.8%)
» Vermont (1%)
» Idaho (1.3%)
» North Dakota (1.5%)
» Maine (1.5%)
