Foreclosure starts across the Dallas-Fort Worth area climbed about 24% from a year earlier, running well above the national increase of roughly 16%. Yet the metroplex is nowhere near the foreclosure levels seen during the Great Recession, and one housing data expert says the uptick, while worth watching, is not unprecedented.
That’s the assessment from Aaron Wagner, head of data science at ATTOM, who joined Ron Corning on NTX Now in a discussion reported by KERA News. Wagner said the current pace of foreclosure starts in Dallas-Fort Worth is roughly three-quarters of the level the region averaged in 2015, when the area saw more than 1,000 foreclosure starts per month. This year, the metroplex has averaged a little more than 800 foreclosure starts per month, according to the same report.
The North Texas numbers track with a broader statewide trend. Texas led the nation in new foreclosure starts in July, recording 3,306 initial filings as total U.S. foreclosure filings rose 10% year-over-year to 39,906 properties, according to HousingWire. Separately, more than 2,700 residential properties across Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties entered foreclosure during the first four months of 2026, a roughly 33% increase over the same period in 2025, per the Land and Housing Report.
Why Equity Is Doing the Heavy Lifting
Wagner said Dallas-Fort Worth homeowners are in a strong equity position overall, and that cushion is central to why the rising foreclosure-start numbers haven’t translated into a wave of forced bank repossessions. About 47% of mortgaged homes in the metroplex are considered equity rich, meaning the owner owes no more than half of the property’s value, compared with 41% nationally, the report notes. On the other end of the spectrum, seriously underwater mortgages — where an owner owes at least 25% more than a home is worth — account for only about 1.5% of Dallas-Fort Worth mortgages, versus 3.2% nationally…