Alabama foreclosures and housing market
How foreclosure works in Alabama, which counties lean to buyers or sellers, and how many homes are for sale right now.
How's the market in Alabama?
A balanced market.
Listings spent about 75 days on the market, and 18% had a price cut in October 2026.
Market figures: Realtor.com® Economic Research, October 2026. Free weekly email. Unsubscribe anytime.
Distressed properties in Alabama
Pre-foreclosures, auctions, bank-owned and HUD homes from county notices, with the street area instead of the house number.
Representative photoWe are not tracking properties in Alabama yet
Our property list covers a handful of counties so far. Leave your email for the free weekly brief, and we will note that you want property alerts for Alabama.
The closest place we track is Florida, with 1 property.
The Alabama market in October 2026
Our score compares how many listings went under contract with how many were for sale, ranked against every US county. Low scores lean to buyers, high scores to sellers.
Alabama market score
- Homes for sale
- 22,751
- US: 1,179,101
- Typical days on market
- 75
- US: 66
- Listings with a price cut
- 18%
- US: 21%
- Homes for sale vs pre-pandemic
- −1%
- US: −7%
- October 2026 vs the October average for 2017 to 2019.
Market score by county
Check any countyGray counties had too few listings to score. Tap a county for its full answer.
Most buyer-friendly counties
Lowest scores among counties with 50+ homes for sale.
- 6Barbour County106 days on market · 16% with a price cut · 103 for sale
- 7Covington County85 days on market · 13% with a price cut · 188 for sale
- 9Lee County77 days on market · 18% with a price cut · 950 for sale
- 10Cherokee County92 days on market · 15% with a price cut · 163 for sale
- 11Pike County87 days on market · 8% with a price cut · 119 for sale
Most seller-friendly counties
Highest scores among counties with 50+ homes for sale.
- 98Autauga County51 days on market · 11% with a price cut · 115 for sale
- 88Elmore County66 days on market · 17% with a price cut · 280 for sale
- 84Escambia County53 days on market · 20% with a price cut · 61 for sale
- 83Talladega County74 days on market · 16% with a price cut · 259 for sale
- 81Shelby County58 days on market · 18% with a price cut · 1,054 for sale
Source: Realtor.com® Economic Research, October 2026 county data. County days on market are medians. State and US figures weight each county by its homes for sale. Price-cut share is the share of listings with a price reduction.
How foreclosure works in Alabama
Most Alabama foreclosures are non-judicial, handled outside court.
- Main steps and notices
- Notice of the sale runs in a county newspaper once a week for three weeks in a row, with the time, place and terms of the sale.
- For a homestead with a mortgage dated on or after January 1, 2016, the lender mails a notice of the right to redeem at least 30 days before the sale.
- Catching up before the sale
- State law does not require the lender to let the borrower catch up before the sale.
- After the sale
- After the sale, the borrower can redeem within 180 days for a homestead home, or within one year for other property. The right is lost if the home isn't handed over within 10 days of the buyer's written demand.
- Before any of this starts
- Under federal rules, a mortgage servicer generally can't make the first notice or filing for foreclosure until the borrower is more than 120 days behind.
- Governing law
- Code of Alabama § 6-5-247 et seq.; § 35-10-11 et seq.
Sources
- Justia, Foreclosure laws and procedures: 50-state survey (last reviewed November 2022)
- Nolo, Foreclosure redemption period rights (state chart)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How to avoid foreclosure
General information, not legal advice.
Laws change and each case differs. Anyone facing foreclosure should talk with a local attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor.
Go deeper
- Check any county's marketPick a county in Alabama and see whether it leans to buyers or sellers.
- Read the buying guidesHow to buy pre-foreclosures, auction homes, bank-owned homes, HUD homes and short sales.
- Help if you're behind on your mortgageWhere you are in the process, your options, free counselors and scam warnings.
Alabama questions
Is foreclosure in Alabama judicial or non-judicial?
Most Alabama foreclosures are non-judicial, handled outside court.
Can a homeowner get the home back after a foreclosure sale in Alabama?
After the sale, the borrower can redeem within 180 days for a homestead home, or within one year for other property. The right is lost if the home isn't handed over within 10 days of the buyer's written demand.
Can a borrower in Alabama catch up on the loan before the sale?
State law does not require the lender to let the borrower catch up before the sale.
Is Alabama a buyer's or seller's market right now?
A balanced market. Alabama scores 58 out of 100 on our market scale, where low scores lean to buyers. Listings spent about 75 days on the market, and 18% had a price cut in October 2026. Source: Realtor.com® Economic Research.
How far behind does a borrower have to be before foreclosure starts?
Under federal rules, a mortgage servicer generally can't make the first notice or filing for foreclosure until the borrower is more than 120 days behind. Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.