The U.S. housing market remains starved for available inventory, with just 1.3% of the nation’s residential properties vacant in the third quarter, even as the number of so-called “zombie homes” tied to abandoned foreclosures edged lower.
The vacancy rate was unchanged from both the second quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2025, according to a new report from ATTOM, a provider of real estate data and analytics.
Of the nation’s 104.6 million residential properties, 259,666 were in some stage of foreclosure during the quarter. ATTOM defines a “zombie home” as a property whose owner has abandoned it before the foreclosure process is completed. There were 8,482 such properties in the third quarter, representing 3.3% of all homes in foreclosure.
That was down slightly from a zombie rate of 3.4% in both the prior quarter and the same period last year.
The data point to a housing market with little inventory slack. While distressed and abandoned properties remain concentrated in certain markets, the overwhelming majority of the nation’s housing stock is occupied, leaving relatively few vacant homes available to absorb buyer demand.
“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 home vacancy rate is below 1 percent, creating a bottleneck that is helping to keep prices high.”
Zombie homes rise in 21 states
The national decline in zombie properties masks considerable variation across the country.
Zombie properties increased in 21 states from the second to the third quarter. Among states with at least 50 zombie properties, Kentucky recorded the largest increase, with the number jumping 56.8% to 58. Colorado followed with a 30.1% increase to 95, while Arizona rose 19.4% to 86.
Maryland’s zombie inventory increased 18.9% to 151 properties, while Indiana rose 17% to 344.
Several states recorded substantial declines. Georgia’s zombie properties fell 22.8% to 78, while Texas dropped 17.4% to 166. Ohio, which had one of the country’s largest concentrations, declined 10.8% to 602. Minnesota fell 10% to 54 and California dropped 8% to 298.
The figures suggest that zombie inventory remains a localized phenomenon rather than a broad-based deterioration in the national housing market.
Just 19 states have vacancy rates below one percent
Housing vacancy remains exceptionally low across much of the country.
The highest overall residential vacancy rates in the third quarter were recorded in Oklahoma and Kansas, both at 2.4%, followed by Alabama at 2.2%, and West Virginia and Missouri at 2.1%.
The tightest markets were in New Hampshire, where just 0.3% of residential properties were vacant, followed by Vermont at 0.4% and New Jersey, Connecticut and Idaho at 0.5%.
In all, 19 states had vacancy rates below 1%.
That scarcity matters because vacant homes represent one of the few portions of the existing housing stock that could potentially be brought to market without new construction. With such a small share of homes sitting empty, there is limited existing inventory available to relieve pressure on buyers.
Investor-owned homes are twice as likely to be vacant
The vacancy picture changes significantly when looking at institutional investors.
ATTOM found that 879,532 of the 24.9 million residential properties owned by institutional investors were vacant, producing a vacancy rate of 3.5%.
That’s more than twice the national residential vacancy rate.
Indiana had the highest vacancy rate among investor-owned properties at 7%, followed by Illinois at 6.2%, Oklahoma at 6% and Kansas and Alabama at 5.9%.
Investor-owned vacancy was lowest in New Hampshire at 0.9%, Vermont at 1%, Idaho at 1.3%, and North Dakota and New Jersey at 1.5%.
The disparity underscores an increasingly important feature of the U.S. housing market: headline housing inventory doesn’t necessarily equal housing available for sale or occupancy.
A vacant property may be undergoing renovation, awaiting foreclosure resolution, held as an investment or otherwise unavailable to buyers and renters.
Midwest metros show highest zombie rates
Zombie properties are particularly concentrated in several Midwestern and older industrial housing markets.
Among 140 metropolitan statistical areas with sufficient data, Youngstown, Ohio, had the highest zombie rate, with 12.1% of properties in foreclosure classified as vacant. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, followed at 11.6%, Baltimore at 11.5%, Fort Wayne, Indiana, at 11.1% and Akron, Ohio, at 10.5%.
Several markets reported virtually no zombie inventory. Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Huntsville, Alabama, both recorded a zero zombie rate, while Trenton, New Jersey, was at 0.1%, Provo, Utah, at 0.2% and Atlantic City, New Jersey, at 0.4%.
At the ZIP-code level, concentrations were even more pronounced.
ZIP code 33708 in St. Petersburg, Florida, had the highest zombie rate at 38.3% of homes in foreclosure, followed by 88310 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, at 36.7%.
Indianapolis ZIP codes 46201 and 46208 recorded zombie rates of 34.1% and 32.6%, respectively, while ZIP code 34652 in New Port Richey, Florida, also registered a 32.6% rate.
A shortage hiding in plain sight
The latest ATTOM report illustrates two very different realities within the U.S. housing market.
On one side is a nationwide shortage of vacant housing, with the overall vacancy rate holding at just 1.3% and below 1% in 19 states. On the other is a relatively small but highly concentrated pool of distressed properties that have been abandoned during foreclosure.
The number of zombie homes is declining nationally, but that does little to alleviate the broader supply problem.
For prospective buyers, the critical issue isn’t simply how many homes exist. It’s how many are actually available, marketable and accessible at a price buyers can afford.
With the national vacancy rate unchanged and extremely low in much of the country, the latest data suggest that the U.S. housing market continues to operate with little excess inventory–one reason housing prices have remained resistant to significant declines despite affordability challenges.
The zombie problem may be shrinking. The housing shortage isn’t.
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