Legal Filings

The Pipeline

ATTOM starts-to-completions ratio; the comparison does not establish the outstanding foreclosure inventory

What is the current The Pipeline?

FORECLOSURE STARTS-TO-COMPLETIONS
4.75
ATTOM foreclosure starts-to-completions ratio
One year ago
6.55
down 1.80 since Q4 2024

Foreclosure starts versus completions compares two flows reported by ATTOM Data Solutions: properties receiving a foreclosure start and properties reaching a completed foreclosure during the reporting period. The ratio does not measure the stock of properties still in process, how long they remain there, or future housing inventory. Source: ATTOM Data Solutions.

ATTOM reported 4.8 foreclosure starts for each completed foreclosure in Q4 2025.

ATTOM reports foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures as separate monthly counts. A completed foreclosure is a lender repossession, or REO.

The ratio divides starts in a reporting period by completed foreclosures in that period. It does not follow the same properties from initiation to completion or count the full inventory of outstanding foreclosure cases.

At 4.8 in Q4 2025, ATTOM's ratio reports how many new starts occurred for each completed foreclosure. A value above one means starts outnumbered completions; a value below one means completions outnumbered starts.

Because starts and completions are different flows with a time lag, the ratio alone cannot establish whether the outstanding foreclosure inventory is building or draining. Read it alongside ATTOM's separate start, completion, and total-filing counts.

Source: ATTOM Data Solutions via official source · Latest: 2025-Q4

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How has The Pipeline changed over time?

CSV Chart Card
Foreclosure starts relative to completed foreclosures
Foreclosure starts per completion, ATTOM monthly
The Pipeline
Historical data
Quarterly · ATTOM Data Solutions
Period Value YoY Change
Q4 2025 4.75 −1.80
Q3 2025 6.29
Q2 2025 5.6
Q4 2024 6.55

Frequently Asked Questions

What does foreclosure starts vs. completions measure?

It compares properties receiving a foreclosure start with properties reaching a completed foreclosure during the reporting period. The two counts are separate flows; their ratio is not the number of properties still in process.

Why does the pipeline ratio matter?

The ratio describes the balance between two reported foreclosure flows in the period. Assessing the outstanding pipeline, time in process, or future inventory requires separate stock and transition data that this ratio does not provide.

Where does foreclosure starts and completions data come from?

ATTOM Data Solutions tracks foreclosure activity from county recorder offices nationwide, broken down by default notices (starts), scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions (completions). Data is published quarterly.

Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Twice named to Puget Sound Business Journal Fast 50 for Ark Law Group. B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1992. Founded American Default Research in 2026 to fill a gap in public data that had been empty since 2013.

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Why does The Pipeline matter?

The Pipeline is one of 98 live indicators tracked by American Default Research. The methodology page explains sources, update cadence, and how the index uses its published inputs.
View methodology →
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