July 1, 2026
By We Buy NJ Homes Fast
New Jersey Foreclosure Statistics and Trends for 2026
New Jersey foreclosure statistics in one place, from the state's national ranking to official county filing data and where every number comes from.
Introduction
New Jersey has ranked among the worst states in the country for foreclosure activity for most of the past two decades, and 2025 was no exception. This page gathers the key numbers in one place, explains where each figure comes from, and puts today's activity next to the last true crisis so the current numbers have context. We update it as new quarterly and annual data is released, and every figure below links to its source.
The short version is that New Jersey ended 2025 with the sixth highest foreclosure rate in the nation, briefly held the single worst monthly rate in the country in December 2025, and has been easing back toward the middle of the pack through the first half of 2026.
Where New Jersey Stands Right Now
The most recent monthly data shows the pressure easing. In March 2026 the state's rate was one foreclosure filing for every 2,266 housing units, still among the worst in the country but well off its December peak. By the May 2026 national report, New Jersey no longer appeared among the five worst states at all, according to ATTOM's monthly foreclosure market report.
That easing tracks the national trend. Across the country, foreclosure activity in May 2026 covered 40,355 properties, down 5% from the prior month but still up 14% from a year earlier, as the market continues to normalize from the unusually quiet pandemic-era years.
New Jersey entered 2026 carrying the country's worst December foreclosure rate, and has spent the first half of the year slowly climbing out of the bottom five.
The 2025 Numbers
ATTOM's year-end 2025 foreclosure market report put New Jersey sixth worst in the nation, with one foreclosure filing for every 273 housing units over the full year. Applied to the state's roughly 3.76 million housing units, that works out to approximately 13,800 New Jersey properties that received a foreclosure filing in 2025. That estimate is ours, derived from the reported rate, since ATTOM publishes the state count only in its licensed data.
The pressure built through the year. By mid-2025, 6,826 New Jersey properties had received a filing, a rate of one in every 553 housing units that ranked seventh worst among states, and the second half pushed the full-year rank a notch higher.
For national context, foreclosure filings were reported on 367,460 U.S. properties in 2025. That was 0.26% of all housing units, up 14% from 2024 but still down 25% from 2019, the last normal pre-pandemic year. The only states with worse full-year rates than New Jersey were Florida at one in 230, Delaware at one in 240, South Carolina at one in 242, and Illinois at one in 248.
Atlantic City deserves its own line. Among New Jersey metros it carried the heaviest concentration in 2025, with one filing for every 192 housing units, a legacy of the region's casino-economy swings that has kept South Jersey counties near the top of the state's foreclosure tables for years.
How Bad the Last Crisis Got, County by County
Today's numbers look very different next to the 2008 to 2010 crisis. The Administrative Office of the Courts tracked every foreclosure complaint filed in Superior Court, and the state's Department of Banking and Insurance preserves that record. At the 2009 peak, New Jersey saw 66,717 foreclosure filings in a single year, roughly five times the estimated 2025 total.
| Year | Foreclosure complaints filed | Change from prior year |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 20,253 | — |
| 2006 | 24,857 | +23% |
| 2007 | 36,360 | +46% |
| 2008 | 51,623 | +42% |
| 2009 | 66,717 | +29% |
| 2010 | 58,445 | −12% |
The official series pauses in early 2011, when filings collapsed almost entirely after the robo-signing scandal froze most bank foreclosures in New Jersey's courts. The county-level record from the peak years shows how unevenly the crisis landed.
| County | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 2,323 | 3,656 | 3,134 |
| Bergen | 3,495 | 5,193 | 4,215 |
| Burlington | 2,696 | 3,391 | 3,323 |
| Camden | 3,812 | 4,362 | 4,553 |
| Cape May | 1,132 | 1,359 | 1,094 |
| Cumberland | 977 | 1,071 | 1,053 |
| Essex | 6,113 | 6,992 | 5,619 |
| Gloucester | 1,791 | 2,264 | 2,265 |
| Hudson | 3,060 | 4,055 | 3,503 |
| Hunterdon | 451 | 589 | 604 |
| Mercer | 2,164 | 2,804 | 2,489 |
| Middlesex | 3,650 | 4,947 | 4,351 |
| Monmouth | 3,223 | 4,478 | 3,849 |
| Morris | 1,808 | 2,356 | 2,142 |
| Ocean | 3,983 | 5,191 | 4,597 |
| Passaic | 3,298 | 4,113 | 3,343 |
| Salem | 424 | 496 | 491 |
| Somerset | 1,376 | 1,831 | 1,580 |
| Sussex | 1,127 | 1,593 | 1,532 |
| Union | 4,033 | 5,059 | 3,838 |
| Warren | 687 | 917 | 870 |
Essex County led the state through the entire crisis and filed 6,992 foreclosures at the 2009 peak. Union, Bergen, Ocean, and Middlesex each ran above 4,900 that year. Even at today's elevated-for-the-nation levels, no New Jersey county is experiencing anything close to those volumes.
Where the Data Comes From
Three sources produce nearly every New Jersey foreclosure number you'll see quoted, and they don't measure the same thing.
- The New Jersey Courts count actual foreclosure complaints filed in Superior Court. The Administrative Office of the Courts is the official custodian, and its numbers are the definitive record of filings.
- The NJ Department of Banking and Insurance collects quarterly reports from creditors under the Mortgage Stabilization and Relief Act. Its data excludes federally chartered lenders, so it undercounts the true total.
- ATTOM aggregates default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions from county records nationwide. Its monthly, quarterly, and annual reports are what most news coverage cites, including the state rankings on this page.
When a headline says New Jersey has the worst foreclosure rate in the country, it is almost always citing an ATTOM monthly report. When a court or state agency quotes a filing count, that is the AOC number. The two can differ substantially because a single property can generate several ATTOM-tracked events on its way through one court filing.
What This Means If You're Behind
Statewide statistics don't change what happens at your kitchen table, but they do carry one practical message. Foreclosure activity in New Jersey is common enough that the state, the courts, and lenders all have well-worn processes for homeowners who act before the sheriff sale date, and New Jersey's judicial foreclosure process moves slowly enough to leave real time to choose a path.
If you're in that position, start with our guide on how to stop foreclosure in New Jersey, which walks through every option from reinstatement to selling. If you've missed payments but foreclosure hasn't started, the earlier playbook in behind on mortgage payments applies. Sellers weighing a quick exit can estimate what they'd walk away with using the net proceeds calculator in our guide to the cost of selling a house in New Jersey, and homeowners who owe more than the home is worth should read what a short sale is before assuming it's the only route.
We buy houses in any condition across all 21 New Jersey counties, including homes already in the foreclosure process. If you need a written cash offer and a closing date that beats your sheriff sale, contact the We Buy NJ Homes Fast Team for a no-obligation offer.
Conclusion
New Jersey ended 2025 sixth worst in the nation for foreclosure activity and spent December as the single worst state, yet the first half of 2026 shows genuine easing, and today's volumes remain a fraction of the 2009 peak of 66,717 filings. We refresh this page as ATTOM releases its monthly and annual reports and as the state publishes new quarterly filing data. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite any figure here with attribution to the linked primary sources.
Disclaimer. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or tax advice. Laws and programs change frequently, and individual situations vary significantly. Always consult with qualified professionals for advice specific to your situation.