Pinellas ZIP code among top five nationally in 'zombie' foreclosure rate

National home vacancy rates have remained steady for the past three years, but according to a new study the number of abandoned properties nationwide continues to creep up — particularly in one Tampa Bay ZIP code.

ATTOM, a real estate data and analytics provider, released a report Thursday that found the national home vacancy rate has remained unchanged at 1.3% of all homes in the U.S. in the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. 

The so-called “zombie” foreclosure rate of homes abandoned by their owners, however, continues to slowly increase, to a current 3.38% nationally. The 33708 ZIP code in the Tampa Bay region, the report found, is in the top five of that list, mixed in with three Midwest cities and Los Angeles, which is No. 1. The 33708 ZIP code is in Pinellas County and includes Madeira Beach and Redington Beach. 

Overall the study found that roughly 1.39 million residential properties nationwide are vacant, marking the 14th consecutive quarter the vacancy rate has remained unchanged. ATTOM attributes this to strong housing demand, the report says.

ATTOM’s report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data, including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status. Its analysis shows that 222,318 properties in the U.S. were in the process of foreclosure. Of those pre-foreclosure homes, roughly 3.38% — or 7,519 homes — were abandoned “zombie” properties. That is slightly higher than the previous quarter’s rate of 3.30% of pre-forclosure homes, and the 3.14% zombie rate posted in the third quarter of 2024. 

“Vacant and zombie homes can hurt the value of surrounding properties and start a negative spiral in a local housing market," CEO of ATTOM Rob Barber says in a statement. “While there remain some markets with worryingly high rates of vacancies, as a whole it appears that the nation’s buyers are quickly filling homes that become available.”

ATTOM analyzed county tax assessor data for 104.2 million residential properties for vacancies, categorized by foreclosure status and owner-occupancy status. Only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, counties with at least 50,000 residential properties and ZIP codes with at least 1,000 residential properties were included in the analysis. 

The study found that zombie foreclosure numbers increased in 23 states between the second and third quarter, however most increases were minor. Colorado and Washington saw the highest year-over-year growth, more than doubling their zombie property counts. Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, and New York saw some of the largest declines. 

Large metro areas tended to have better zombie foreclosure rates than the rest of the nation. Of the 135 large metro areas included in the study, 57% had zombie foreclosure rates below the national average of 3.38%.