According to the Q2 2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report by ATTOM, approximately 1.3 million (1,285,633) residential properties in the United States are currently unoccupied. This number accounts for 1.3% of all homes nationwide, which means that roughly one out of every 79 homes is vacant.

ATTOM uses publicly recorded real estate data, which includes information on foreclosure, equity, and owner-occupancy status, along with regularly updated vacancy data, to determine the number of zombie foreclosures across the country.

According to the Q2 2023 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, there were 311,508 residential properties undergoing foreclosure in the United States during the second quarter of 2023. This figure reflects a 4.3% increase compared to the first quarter of 2023, and a 20.2% increase compared to the second quarter of 2022.

In the second quarter of 2023, out of the total pre-foreclosure properties, there were 8,752 vacant properties categorized as zombie foreclosures (properties abandoned by owners). This represents a 7.5% increase from the previous quarter and a 15.6% increase from the same period last year. The number of zombie properties has been steadily increasing over the past five quarters, starting from early 2022.

Despite this upward trend, it is worth noting that the number of zombie foreclosures remains relatively low when compared to the nation’s total housing stock of 101.3 million residential properties. Thus, their impact on the overall housing market is minimal.

In the second quarter of 2023, out of the 8,752 residential properties that were at risk of foreclosure, the owners had vacated these properties across the United States. This figure represents an increase from 8,141 in the first quarter of 2023 and 7,569 in the second quarter of 2022. In 29 states, there has been a quarterly rise in the number of vacant properties, commonly referred to as “zombie properties,” while in 36 states, the increase has been observed on an annual basis.