North Carolina Foreclosures, Tax Liens & Distressed Properties

North Carolina sits in DLRadar's nationwide distress index, scored entirely by one fixed, rule-based method. Coverage spans 100 North Carolina counties and 853 ZIPs, a 30/100 mean composite. Counties break down as 95 peak, 3 contraction, 1 expansion, 1 neutral by phase. North Carolina leans peak overall, with average prices up 2.2% YoY.

The most stressed counties include Jones County, Tyrrell County, Alexander County, Bertie County, Gates County — each with a full county distress report.

At the ZIP level, the highest distress in North Carolina shows up in 27242 (42/100), 27259 (42/100), 27376 (42/100), 28327 (42/100), 28350 (42/100).

Here is the county-by-county distress and phase picture for North Carolina.

DLRadar reads Alamance County as expansion — prices up 5.4%, bank stress 39/100. Alexander County sits in peak, prices up 2.3%, headwind 83/100. Alleghany County is peak (prices up 2.8%, a 36/100 lender reading). Anson County — peak, up 1.0% on the year, lender pressure 66/100. Ashe County — peak, values rising 2.8%, bank stress 50/100. Avery County is peak (values rising 2.8%, headwind 39/100). Beaufort County is peak (values rising 1.9%, bank stress 21/100).

Bertie County: peak, up 2.8% on the year, lender pressure 78/100. Bladen County sits in peak, prices up 2.8%, lender pressure 41/100. Brunswick County is peak (appreciation near 3.5%, bank stress 38/100). Buncombe County reads peak — prices up 0.8%, headwind 47/100. In Burke County, peak: up 2.3% on the year, lender pressure 49/100. In Cabarrus County, peak: appreciation near 1.0%, a 40/100 lender reading. Caldwell County reads peak — prices up 2.3%, headwind 55/100.

Camden County — peak, appreciation near 3.4%, headwind 51/100. Carteret County is in its peak phase, up 1.9% on the year, headwind 47/100. Caswell County reads peak — appreciation near 2.8%, bank stress 21/100. Catawba County reads peak — homes +2.3% YoY, lender pressure 51/100. Chatham County: peak, appreciation near 1.3%, headwind 45/100. Cherokee County sits in peak, up 2.8% on the year, a 50/100 lender reading. DLRadar reads Chowan County as peak — up 2.8% on the year, a 47/100 lender reading.

Clay County sits in peak, homes +2.8% YoY, bank stress 56/100. In Cleveland County, peak: appreciation near 1.9%. Columbus County is peak (homes +2.8% YoY, a 25/100 lender reading). Craven County reads peak — appreciation near 1.9%, headwind 46/100. Cumberland County sits in peak, homes +2.3% YoY, a 33/100 lender reading. DLRadar reads Currituck County as peak — up 3.4% on the year, bank stress 39/100. Dare County sits in peak, values rising 1.9%, bank stress 35/100.

Davidson County is peak (up 3.3% on the year, headwind 31/100). Davie County reads peak — appreciation near 3.3%, headwind 33/100. Duplin County reads peak — values rising 2.8%, a 45/100 lender reading. Durham County reads peak — up 1.3% on the year, lender pressure 47/100. Edgecombe County reads contraction — values off 2.2%, down 2.7% from its high, lender pressure 60/100. Forsyth County reads peak — values rising 3.3%, lender pressure 47/100. Franklin County sits in peak, values rising 0.7%, a 56/100 lender reading.

Gaston County sits in peak, appreciation near 1.0%, lender pressure 35/100. Gates County is peak (prices up 3.4%, a 78/100 lender reading). Graham County is peak (prices up 2.8%, headwind 52/100). Granville County: peak, homes +2.8% YoY, bank stress 36/100. DLRadar reads Greene County as peak — appreciation near 2.8%, headwind 68/100. Guilford County sits in peak, appreciation near 4.2%, lender pressure 50/100. Halifax County is peak (homes +1.9% YoY, bank stress 61/100).

Harnett County — peak, appreciation near 1.9%, bank stress 70/100. DLRadar reads Haywood County as peak — values rising 1.9%, headwind 46/100. Henderson County is peak (up 0.8% on the year, a 48/100 lender reading). DLRadar reads Hertford County as peak — homes +2.8% YoY, a 63/100 lender reading. Hoke County sits in peak, values rising 2.3%, headwind 54/100. In Hyde County, peak: values rising 2.8%, bank stress 16/100. Iredell County is in its peak phase, homes +1.0% YoY, lender pressure 43/100.

Jackson County sits in peak, homes +2.8% YoY, headwind 44/100.

North Carolina opportunity phases: 34 early_signal, 18 watchlist, 17 peak_opportunity, 14 weak, 9 strong_buy, 8 overheated; North Carolina average index 31.4. Best-ranked North Carolina counties: Bertie #57 (38.3), vacancy; Northampton #57 (38.3), vacancy; Scotland #60 (38.2), vacancy in North Carolina; Montgomery #76 (37.7), vacancy; Macon #89 (37.4), vacancy; Hertford #113 (36.9), vacancy.

North Carolina mortgages ninety-plus days late: 0.9%; North Carolina thirty-to-eighty-nine days late 2.4% (December 2025); 24 North Carolina counties sit in the CFPB sample; highest North Carolina county readings: Catawba 1.7%, Onslow 1.6%, Cumberland 1.5%, Pitt 1.4%, Gaston 1.2%.

North Carolina county unemployment averages 3.7% across 100 counties; North Carolina permitted 87,853 housing units in twelve months (25,295 multifamily); 613,323 of 4,895,668 North Carolina housing units are vacant; 1,408,252 North Carolina renter households, 39.6% spending 30%+ of income on rent.

North Carolina ZIP price-cycle phases: 9,435 peak, 2,466 expansion, 1,387 contraction, 872 neutral, 429 recovery.