Indiana is experiencing a significant rise in home foreclosure rates, with a 16.1% increase in mortgage foreclosure case filings in 2025, according to a report by the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI). The report, titled State of Fair Housing Report – Homes at Risk: Mortgage and Tax Foreclosures in Marion County, highlights the escalating homeownership crisis in the state.
Rising Foreclosure Rates
The data reveals that Indiana recently surged nationally for its foreclosure rate, with one out of every 1,597 housing units facing foreclosure action. The Indianapolis metropolitan area placed third among all large U.S. metro areas, logging an active foreclosure for every 1,249 housing units. Locally, Marion County saw its foreclosure density rise from 5.9 starts per 1,000 owner-occupied households in 2024 up to 7.3 starts in 2025.
A random sampling of 100 Marion County foreclosure filings against individual borrowers found that the crisis is deeply impacting established residents, with 44% of the borrowers having owned their homes for 10 or more years before falling behind. The report also identified the primary loan servicers initiating these actions in 2025, led by U.S. Bank with 253 foreclosure starts, followed closely by Freedom Mortgage with 171, and NewRez with 165.
Vulnerable Demographics
The report identified two distinct vulnerable demographics falling into tax delinquency: long-time homeowners who completely own their properties outright but cannot keep up with skyrocketing annual tax bills, and individuals who recently inherited a family home but fell behind on taxes within a few years. The report also emphasizes that tax delinquencies and completed tax sales are concentrated in historic Black neighborhoods surrounding downtown Indianapolis, including Northwest-Riverside and Crown Hill.
The FHCCI is leveraging these findings to demand immediate, systemic intervention from Indiana lenders and policymakers. The organization is calling for robust localized assistance programs and legislative reforms to lower baseline housing costs, freeze property tax hikes for vulnerable populations, and limit the destabilizing ripple effects of displacement on Central Indiana families.
Original reporting: 93.1 WIBC (Indianapolis) — read the source article.
