Foreclosure Crisis Hits South Carolina Hard

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by WILL FOLKS

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South Carolina had the second-worst foreclosure rate in the entire nation last month, according to new industry data – the second straight month it achieved this dubious distinction.

This data was released on Monday (December 8, 2025) by ATTOM, a firm which bills itself as a “leading curator of land, property data and real estate analytics.”

According to ATTOM, November 2025 marked the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity – including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. Since the beginning of the year, completed foreclosures are up 32% nationally from a year ago while foreclosure starts are up 20%.

“Nationwide, one in every 3,992 housing units had a foreclosure filing in November 2025,” the group noted.

Unfortunately, South Carolina had one foreclosure filing for every 1,973 housing units – putting the Palmetto State ahead of only Delaware (which had one filing for every 1,924 housing units).

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South Carolina has ranked No. 2 nationally in foreclosure rate in each of the last two months for which data is available. In October 2025, the Palmetto State had one foreclosure filing for every 1,982 housing units – ahead of only Florida (which had one filing for every 1,829 housing units).

The national surge in foreclosures is being driven by elevated borrowing costs, reduced savings and the lingering impacts of inflation. And while foreclosure rates remain well below their peak during the Great Recession, recent double-digit upticks are a cause for concern – especially here in the Palmetto State.

“Foreclosure pressure is felt hardest in states or counties with tight budgets and lower household financial resilience,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.

“We’re seeing signs of stress beneath the surface and some indication that borrowers who fall behind are struggling to catch up, progressing into later stages of delinquency,” noted Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality, a property data firm.

While Boesel acknowledged “delinquencies remain low by historical standards, at just a quarter of the peak levels experienced during the Great Financial Crisis,” she warned of “growing challenges for borrowers once they become delinquent.”

Clearly, those challenges are going to be consistently more pronounced in the Palmetto State than elsewhere in the nation.

Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we continue to track this data and other pertinent economic metrics…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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