The Current Landscape
Through April 2026, Travis County has recorded 2,486 lis pendens filings year-to-date — a 38% increase over the same period in 2025 and the highest filing volume since 2019. Notices of trustee sale (the final step before auction) are up 29% year-over-year.
These aren't abstract statistics. Each filing represents a homeowner who has fallen behind on their mortgage and a lender who has initiated the formal foreclosure process. For investors, each filing also represents a potential deal — a property that may trade at a significant discount to market value if you can make contact during the pre-auction window.
But not all filings are equal. Let's break down what's actually happening and where the opportunities are concentrated.
What's Driving the Surge
ARM Resets: The Ticking Clock
The single largest driver of new filings in early 2026 is the wave of adjustable-rate mortgage resets hitting Austin borrowers. Between 2020 and 2022, a significant volume of Austin home purchases — particularly by investors and move-up buyers — were financed with 5/1 ARMs at rates between 2.5% and 3.5%.
Those loans are now resetting. A 5/1 ARM originated in 2021 resets in 2026, and the new rate is typically indexed to SOFR plus a margin of 2-3%, putting the adjusted rate in the 6.5-7.5% range. On a $400,000 loan, that's a monthly payment increase of $900-$1,200.
The borrowers most affected are:
•Investors who bought rental properties with ARMs, assuming they'd refinance before the reset. In 2026's rate environment, refinancing doesn't help much.
•Stretch buyers who qualified at the initial rate but can't absorb the reset payment
•Short-term rental operators who modeled revenue against 2021-2022 occupancy rates that no longer exist
The Insurance Squeeze
Texas homeowners' insurance premiums increased an average of 14% in 2025, following a 12% increase in 2024. For a typical Austin home insured at replacement cost, annual premiums now run $3,800-$5,200 — up from $2,800-$3,500 two years ago.
Insurance costs hit hardest in areas prone to hail damage and flooding. Zip codes in north and northwest Austin (78729, 78750, 78759) and in the Onion Creek area (78748) have seen some of the steepest increases, and those areas are also showing elevated lis pendens activity.
Property Tax Pressure
Travis County property taxes remain among the highest in Texas. Despite the homestead exemption increase, owners of non-homestead properties (investors, landlords, and vacant lot owners) saw effective tax rates averaging 2.1% of appraised value in 2025. For a property appraised at $450,000, that's $9,450/year in property taxes alone.
Combined with rising insurance and the ARM reset wave, the total carrying cost for many Austin property owners has increased by $15,000-$25,000/year compared to when they purchased.
Where the Filings Are Concentrated
Not all zip codes are seeing equal distress. The [Austin Signals dashboard](/) tracks filing density by zip code in real time. Here are the top five zip codes by lis pendens filing volume year-to-date (through April 2026):
| Zip Code | Area | Filings YTD | YoY Change |
|-----------|------|------------|------------|
| 78744 | Southeast Austin | 187 | +44% |
| 78745 | South Austin / Manchaca | 164 | +37% |
| 78741 | East Riverside / Montopolis | 152 | +41% |
| 78753 | North Lamar / Rundberg | 148 | +35% |
| 78748 | South Austin / Onion Creek | 131 | +52% |
The pattern: filings are concentrated in workforce housing zip codes where the median price is $300,000-$450,000. These are the areas where ARM resets, insurance increases, and property tax pressure create the most acute financial strain.
For a deeper analysis of distress distribution by zip code, see our [zip code analysis](/blog/austin-zip-codes-most-distressed).
The Pre-Foreclosure Timeline in Texas
Understanding the timeline is critical for knowing how to act on each filing type:
Day 0: Missed payment. The borrower misses their first mortgage payment. The lender typically doesn't take formal action until the account is 90+ days delinquent.
Day 90-120: Notice of default. The lender sends a formal notice to the borrower. In Texas, this is often accompanied by or followed by a lis pendens filing with the county.
Day 120-150: Demand letter / Notice of acceleration. The lender demands full payment of the outstanding balance and accelerates the loan. This is the point of no return for most workout options.
Day 150+: Notice of trustee sale. The lender records a notice that the property will be sold at auction. In Texas, trustee sales happen on the first Tuesday of each month at the county courthouse.
21 days minimum before sale: Texas law requires at least 21 days' notice before the auction date. In practice, the window between notice of trustee sale and auction is often 30-60 days.
This timeline gives you a window of roughly 60-150 days from the initial lis pendens to the auction date. The earlier you make contact, the more options the homeowner has and the more likely you are to reach a deal.
For a complete walkthrough of the timeline, see our [anatomy of a pre-foreclosure](/blog/anatomy-pre-foreclosure-timeline).
What This Means for Investors
More Deal Volume
The math is straightforward: more filings = more potential deals. At 2,486 lis pendens filings through April, Travis County is on pace for approximately 7,400 filings in 2026. Even at a conservative 1-2% deal conversion rate from outreach, that's 74-148 potential deals for the Austin investor community.
More Seller Motivation
The drivers of distress in 2026 (ARM resets, insurance, taxes) are structural, not temporary. An owner whose payment just increased by $1,000/month isn't going to find that money next month. The motivation is real and persistent, which means sellers are more willing to accept reasonable offers.
More Competition Among Investors
The flip side: as filing volume increases, more investors enter the market. The advantage goes to investors with the best data, the fastest outreach, and the most professional approach. This is why real-time data from the [Austin Signals dashboard](/) matters — being the first investor to make contact with a new filing can be the difference between closing a deal and hearing "I already signed with someone else."
Specific Opportunities to Watch
Based on current data, we see the strongest opportunity profiles in:
•78744 and 78741: High filing volume, strong rental demand, active [cash buyer market](/blog/cash-buyer-activity-austin), and median prices that support wholesale and flip margins
•78748: The steepest year-over-year increase (+52%) suggests an emerging wave that many investors haven't targeted yet
•Properties with Intelligence Scores above 60: These are leads with multiple overlapping distress signals, indicating the highest seller motivation
Action Items
If you're not already monitoring Travis County pre-foreclosure filings daily, now is the time to start. The combination of rising filing volume, structural distress drivers, and a deep cash buyer market creates the best pre-foreclosure investment environment Austin has seen in years.
1.Set up daily alerts on the Austin Signals dashboard for new filings in your target zip codes
2.Build your outreach pipeline using the [scripts and approaches](/blog/first-contact-scripts-pre-foreclosure) that have proven effective in the current market
3.Strengthen your buyer's list — [cash buyer activity](/blog/cash-buyer-activity-austin) is elevated, meaning there's strong demand when you need to disposition deals
4.Review the [auction calendar](/blog/travis-county-auction-calendar-guide) to understand upcoming sale dates and work backward to set your outreach deadlines
The window of opportunity in any pre-foreclosure cycle is finite. Filings will eventually peak and decline. The investors who are active now — with good data, fast outreach, and ethical approaches — will capture the best deals of the cycle.
Ready to find your next deal? [Start your 7-day free trial](/trial) and access every distress signal in Travis County.