(NewsNation) — Foreclosure filings jumped nearly 20% in October from a year ago, continuing a steady climb that’s persisted throughout the year.

There were 36,766 U.S. properties last month with foreclosure filings — such as default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — according to ATTOM, a real estate analytics firm. That total was up 3% from September and marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

Both foreclosure starts (+20%) and completed foreclosures (+32%) rose from a year earlier.

But even with the recent increases, foreclosure activity remains far below historic highs and isn’t signaling a broader housing crisis at this point.

“The current trend appears to reflect a gradual normalization in foreclosure volumes as market conditions adjust and some homeowners continue to navigate higher housing and borrowing costs,” Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, said in a statement.

Foreclosure filings in the first half of 2025 were up about 6% from a year earlier, while third-quarter filings rose 17% from the same period last year, ATTOM data shows.

While foreclosure figures remain in a “historically reasonable range,” the steady increase could represent “an early indicator of emerging borrower strain in some areas,” Barber noted in a recent report.

The strain isn’t limited to one part of the country. Florida had the highest foreclosure rate in October, followed by South Carolina, Illinois, Delaware and Nevada.

“This mix of states across the Southeast, Midwest, and West suggests that rising foreclosure activity is not confined to a single region but instead reflects broader affordability challenges, higher borrowing costs, and ongoing financial strain for some homeowners nationwide,” ATTOM wrote.

To put this year’s activity in perspective: nearly 188,000 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2025 — roughly half the level during the same period in 2018 and about one-tenth of the 1.65 million recorded in the first half of 2010.

Why are foreclosures up in Florida?

Florida was a red-hot destination during the pandemic, but many of its markets have since cooled amid rising insurance costs, natural disaster concerns and soaring HOA fees.

Those pressures are colliding with the steep price run-up of the boom years, and the Sunshine State now has the highest foreclosure rate in the country.

In the third quarter, one in every 814 housing units in the state had a foreclosure filing, compared with one in every 1,402 nationwide, according to ATTOM.

In the Florida cities of Lakeland (one in every 470 housing units), Cape Coral (one in 589) and Ocala (one in 665), foreclosure rates were even higher.

Hannah Jones, a senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, attributed the state’s uptick in foreclosures to surging insurance premiums, rising HOA fees and falling buyer demand, but also pointed to other factors in a recent statement.

“Many homeowners who were protected by pandemic-era forbearance or relief programs are now facing resumed payments they can’t afford in light of rising HOA and insurance costs,” Jones noted.

Elevated mortgage rates have also made it harder for troubled borrowers to refinance, Jones said. And with sales slowing, fewer owners can sell quickly to avoid foreclosure.

For many, “Florida” and “foreclosure” still evoke memories of the 2008 bust, but today’s landscape looks very different. Back then, the foreclosure rate exceeded 5% in several Florida counties. Last quarter, even the hardest-hit metro, Lakeland, sat at just 0.21%.