Foreclosure filings across the central San Joaquin Valley have stabilized after rebounding from pandemic-era lows, but Fresno County is showing stronger activity than its neighboring counties, according to newly released figures.
Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties recorded 1,191 notices of default through August 2026, up 2% from the same period last year, according to data from Properant, a Sacramento-based property data company.
In an email to The Business Journal, Properant founder Saim Chaudhry said foreclosure activity across the four counties has returned to its pre-pandemic range without exceeding those levels.
The region recorded 1,758 foreclosure starts in 2025, compared with 2,170 in 2019 and 2,548 in 2018, according to the company’s latest report.
Fresno County drives regional activity
Fresno County has emerged as the primary source of the region’s recent foreclosure activity.
Chaudhry said Fresno County recorded 975 notices of default in 2025, a 9% increase from the previous year and the county’s highest total since 2019.
Kings, Madera and Tulare counties, meanwhile, experienced relatively flat or slightly declining activity, he said.
The pattern continued into August 2026, when Fresno County accounted for 76 of the 140 foreclosure starts recorded across the four counties, representing approximately 54% of the regional total.
Tulare County recorded 35 foreclosure starts, followed by Madera County with 17 and Kings County with 12.
Across the region, August filings declined approximately 11% from July but increased 4% compared with August 2025.
Foreclosure activity remains far below Great Recession levels
Despite the recent increases, foreclosure filings remain dramatically below their historic peak.
The four counties recorded 21,405 notices of default in 2009, according to Properant’s historical records.
By comparison, the region’s 2025 total was nearly 92% lower.
Foreclosure activity declined sharply during the pandemic, falling from 833 notices of default in 2020 to 488 in 2021.
Filings then rebounded to 1,502 in 2022 and 1,511 in 2023 before increasing to 1,732 in 2024.
The latest figures show that regional foreclosure starts have remained between approximately 1,500 and 1,800 annually for the past three full years.
Chaudhry said the four counties also continue to follow statewide foreclosure trends, accounting for approximately 6% of California’s foreclosure starts, a share similar to that recorded in 2018.
Fewer auction notices relative to foreclosure starts
Another notable trend is the difference between foreclosure starts and notices of trustee sale, which signal that a property has been scheduled for foreclosure auction.
According to Chaudhry, notices of trustee sale were equivalent to approximately 64% of notices of default in 2018. Since 2022, that ratio has generally been closer to 45%.
In 2025, the four counties recorded 787 notices of trustee sale, compared with 1,758 notices of default.
Through August 2026, the region recorded 589 auction notices alongside 1,191 foreclosure starts.
Chaudhry suggested the lower ratio could indicate that more property owners are resolving foreclosure proceedings before an auction is scheduled.
However, the figures represent separate groups of recorded documents, rather than the outcomes of individual foreclosure cases. They do not establish how many properties ultimately avoided foreclosure.
A notice of default marks the beginning of the foreclosure process but does not necessarily lead to a completed foreclosure or property sale.
Properant compiles its figures from documents recorded with county recorders, counting each recorded document as one filing regardless of the number of properties listed.
The remaining months of 2026 will help determine whether the region’s modest increase in foreclosure starts continues or whether annual activity remains within the range recorded over the past three years.
