Foreclosures are creeping up across Nebraska and the nation, and a veteran Omaha-area housing counselor says the people walking into her office right now have fewer paths to keep their homes than she saw during the last housing crisis. In Nebraska, one in every 4,428 housing units was foreclosed on, according to data cited in a report on the trend. The pressure is showing up in more requests for help, even as economists say this slump looks nothing like 2008.
A Statewide Uptick With a Familiar Face Behind the Counseling Desk
Donna McFarden, a housing counselor at Family Housing Advisory Services, has worked with metro clients dealing with foreclosures for the past 30 years, according to KMTV 3 News Now. McFarden has reported that more people have asked for foreclosure help over the past year, and she said vacant homes left behind by people facing foreclosure affect the surrounding community. She also said she does not want children to have to leave the schools they are accustomed to because their family lost a home.
McFarden's biggest concern isn't just that more homeowners are struggling — it's that the safety net has thinned. She said mortgage companies offered more options to help people save their homes from foreclosure back in 2008, telling the station, “Back then is when mortgage companies really came to the table and there were more options for people to save their homes from foreclosure.” She added that mortgage modification rates have increased compared with 2008, leaving her clients with fewer options, and said mortgage companies simply are not currently offering the same kind of help.
Why Economists Say This Isn't a Repeat of 2008
Jane Liu, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Nebraska Omaha, said the current trend is driven mostly by increases in the cost of living, rather than banks giving out loans too freely — the dynamic widely blamed for the 2008 crisis. Liu pointed to one line item in particular: she said the premium for home insurance is 60% more compared to 2021. Beyond insurance, Liu said it's just general inflation, and it's squeezing the household budget for many homeowners who are otherwise current on their mortgages.
That distinction matters because it reshapes what relief might look like. Where the 2008 crisis prompted a wave of loan modifications tied to risky lending practices, the current pressure stems from rising bills that counselors like McFarden can't modify away with a renegotiated mortgage rate.
National Numbers Back Up the Local Squeeze
The Omaha-area trend lines up with national data. Properties with foreclosure filings across the country rose 13% year over year in August 2026, according to ATTOM, which recorded 40,277 properties with default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions that month — up 1% from July. Lenders initiated foreclosure proceedings on 25,894 properties nationally in August 2026, down 3% from the prior month but still up 7% from a year earlier, the same data show. Repossessions jumped further still, with lenders taking back 5,794 properties, up 22% from July and 42% from August 2025.
Even so, ATTOM's report noted that overall foreclosure activity remained below pre-pandemic norms despite the year-over-year increases. The pattern isn't uniform everywhere, either: ATTOM's separate market report found Kansas City, Missouri, actually saw foreclosure starts fall from 104 in August 2025 to 75 in August 2026.
What It Means for Omaha's Market Right Now
Omaha's housing market itself has stayed relatively steady. Over the three months ending September 2026, Omaha home prices were up 2.5% compared with the same period a year earlier, selling for a median price of $287,000, according to Redfin. Homes in the metro took an average of 19 days to sell, compared with 17 days the year before, and 1,360 homes sold in September 2026, down from 1,443 in September 2025. Redfin also notes Omaha's median sale price remains 30% lower than the national average.
Where Struggling Homeowners Can Turn
People facing foreclosure can find a certified housing counselor near them through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Family Housing Advisory Services, where McFarden works, provides HUD-certified one-on-one education counseling for homeowners who are delinquent or facing foreclosure, according to the organization. FHAS says its foreclosure prevention program has helped hundreds of homeowners save their homes, and the group urges anyone experiencing financial difficulty to call for an appointment as soon as their circumstances change, rather than waiting until the situation worsens.
