Sizing the after foreclosure market

There is no national registry of surplus equity. The size of the market has to be estimated.

We extrapolate from high-transparency jurisdictions, principally Florida, Arizona and Michigan, where surplus balances are published. The results are estimates, and we recommend independent verification.

Exhibit 1

Estimated surplus equity, United States

US$ billions

Estimated national stock$5–8B

New surplus each year~$3B

Addressable each year~$2B

02468

Source: Milan CM estimates extrapolated from Florida, Arizona and Michigan. Hatched area shows the range of the estimate.

Exhibit 2

Drivers of supply

81%Of homeowners in active foreclosure held at least 10% equity (CFPB, 2023)

35,651U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, November 2025 (ATTOM)

+21%Properties with filings, year over year (ATTOM)

$25–60KTypical surplus per property (Milan CM estimate)

Filings rose year over year for nine consecutive months through November 2025 (ATTOM). The 81% figure is from the CFPB (January 2023), citing Black Knight data for Q3 2022.

The pattern

Tax liens in the 1990s and single-family rental in the 2010s followed the same arc: dismissed as too small and too operational, then institutionalized. The advantage belonged to those who built the infrastructure first.

No. 04

Evaluating after foreclosure assets: five risks

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