Foreclosures are soaring in the Bronx. Here's what's driving the spike.

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC. Gothamist Listen Live Donate News Foreclosures are soaring in the Bronx. Here's what's driving the spike. By Joseph Capriglione and Herb Pinder Published Aug 29, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET

Twitter Reddit Email Never miss a story Email address By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms . By Joseph Capriglione and Herb Pinder Published Aug 29, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET

Twitter Reddit Email We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

What’s behind a surge in foreclosures in the Bronx?

While foreclosures in New York City dropped slightly in the second quarter of 2026, they nearly doubled in the Bronx, according to recent data from the real estate platform PropertyShark .

First-time foreclosure filings totaled 109 in the Bronx, up from 57 over the same period last year, marking a seven-year high, according to PropertyShark. Across the five boroughs, first-time filings for the quarter declined 5%, falling from 408 to 388.

Christie Peale, CEO and executive director of the Center for NYC Neighborhoods , which advocates for affordable homeownership, recently discussed the foreclosure data with "All Things Considered" host Sean Carlson.

Here is a lightly edited transcript of their discussion.

Peale: Well, foreclosures can be driven by a number of different issues. Obviously, if you miss a payment on your mortgage your lender may start the foreclosure process. That's called filing a lis pendens with the court. Likewise, if you've missed a payment on your property taxes, at a certain point in time, that lien could be sold, and the lienholder could file a foreclosure as well. What we're seeing in the PropertyShark data is, there is a marked increase in tax-lien foreclosures that were initiated by a trust that was created years ago to buy tax liens from the city. This data has had an outsized impact in the Bronx in the past year because the trust does seem to be initiating a number of foreclosures for debts that go back a couple years. That's one of the reasons that we're seeing it in the Bronx, which has a smaller number of one- to four-family homes than the rest of the city. But the trust is taking action in other parts of the city as well.

In the past, city policy was that when you're behind on your taxes, they would bundle those debts and sell them into a trust. What's happened in the Bronx in the past year is, the trust that owns a lot of that old debt has started the foreclosure process. The trust is also doing that in other parts of the city. It's not having the same impact in terms of numbers, but it doesn't mean that there aren't people who are also affected. There have been a lot of changes in policy in the past two or three years based on a decade plus of advocacy across elected officials, advocates, legal services providers and more, to really come up with a much more equitable way for the city to manage property tax debts.

A mortgage foreclosure or a tax foreclosure are the result of some kind of economic shock, whether it's COVID, an unaffordable loan, loss of income, death of a spouse. There are these one-time economic events that can lead to the potential of a home being lost. Obviously in neighborhoods where there is lower income, there's higher stresses around property taxes and income. There's definitely much more stress around the opportunity to maintain homeownership.

Luckily, the city has made a major change in the way that they address property tax foreclosures. Going forward, they're really limiting the type of debts that can be foreclosed upon. So it has to be at least $70,000, and it can only be 15% of the property values. That should really help in neighborhoods like the Bronx. Obviously, the most important thing is, if anybody misses a mortgage payment or a property tax bill, is to reach out for help immediately. There are many, many more resources available before you get to the foreclosure stage for property taxes and mortgage foreclosure. In New York state, we've done a tremendous amount of work to expand consumer protections for mortgage foreclosure, and also through the property tax reform work. Homeowners have a lot of opportunities to resolve a property tax debt.

Herb is the editor of the Race & Justice unit. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-922-2497.

The cluster, which has sickened 94 people since July, is the deadliest in New York City since a 2015 outbreak in the Bronx killed 17.

Many in the region are awaiting word on the fate of loved ones missing since tragedy struck Wednesday.

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Gothamist is a website about New York City news, arts, events and food, brought to you by New York Public Radio.