North Carolina Court Filings Intelligence
Live court-record analysis spanning property-related filings (foreclosure, probate, divorce, partition, guardianship) across North Carolina. Data sourced direct from county court dockets in our coverage area. Updated 2026-10-08. See methodology.
- Filing volume accelerating (+8.5%) — last 2 complete months (47879 filings) vs prior 2 complete months (44121 filings). Excludes current month if still in progress.
- 17.2% off-site owners — share of North Carolina filings where the owner's mailing address differs from the property (rental, inherited, second-home, or transitional).
- Max gross cap rate 5.2% at HUD Fair Market Rent — $16,572/year on the $317,079 median estimated market value. Excludes operating costs.
- 16.1% of filings are Multiple — the dominant lead category in North Carolina during the observed window.
At a glance
200065 property-related court filings tracked across 102 North Carolina counties since Jan 2024.
18332 typical monthly statewide filing volume.
0% of filings involve owners whose mailing address differs from the property address (84 filings).
$317,079 median estimated property value across the 33357 filings with property-enrichment data (17% coverage).
3.7% North Carolina unemployment rate (BLS, as of 2026-07). Filings should be read against the local-economy backdrop.
Filing type breakdown
| Filing type | Filings | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 159643 | 79.8% | |
| Divorce | 20052 | 10.0% | |
| Probate | 12135 | 6.1% | |
| Pre-Foreclosure | 5758 | 2.9% | |
| Guardianship | 1126 | 0.6% | |
| Tax Sale | 726 | 0.4% | |
| Pre-Probate | 255 | 0.1% | |
| Real Estate Dispute | 195 | 0.1% | |
| Partition | 175 | 0.1% |
Each row is a distinct case as recorded on the county docket.
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Top counties by filing volume
Counties with live deep-dive reports linked below. See all North Carolina counties tracked →
| County | Filings | Share | Deep dive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County | 25021 | 12.5% | View report → | |
| Mecklenburg County | 24469 | 12.2% | View report → | |
| Guilford County | 10867 | 5.4% | View report → | |
| Cumberland County | 7226 | 3.6% | View report → | |
| Forsyth County | 6404 | 3.2% | View report → | |
| Cabarrus County | 5559 | 2.8% | View report → | |
| Union County | 4092 | 2.0% | View report → | |
| Johnston County | 4088 | 2.0% | View report → | |
| Gaston County | 3952 | 2.0% | View report → | |
| Alamance County | 3874 | 1.9% | View report → |
Monthly statewide filing activity
| Month | Filings | vs prior | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2024 | 2 | ||
| Jan 2026 | 6234 | +6232 | |
| Feb 2026 | 21181 | +14947 | |
| Mar 2026 | 22776 | +1595 | |
| Apr 2026 | 21033 | -1743 | |
| May 2026 | 20096 | -937 | |
| Jun 2026 | 22220 | +2124 | |
| Jul 2026 | 21901 | -319 | |
| Aug 2026 | 23425 | +1524 | |
| Sep 2026 | 24454 | +1029 | |
| Oct 2026 | 4644 | -19810 |
Most recent month may be partial.
Property value distribution
| Estimated value | Filings | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $75k | 1101 | 3.3% | |
| $75k - $150k | 2960 | 8.9% | |
| $150k - $250k | 6622 | 19.9% | |
| $250k - $400k | 12641 | 37.9% | |
| $400k+ | 10033 | 30.1% |
Median: $317,079. Mean: $356,559. From third-party property enrichment.
Day-of-week filing pattern
| Day | Filings | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | 24230 | 12.9% | |
| Mon | 41021 | 21.8% | |
| Tue | 38429 | 20.4% | |
| Wed | 37779 | 20.1% | |
| Thu | 32728 | 17.4% | |
| Fri | 12433 | 6.6% | |
| Sat | 1346 | 0.7% |
Filings show some weekend activity, suggesting after-hours electronic filing.
Housing stock + distress signals (filing-weighted across 100 North Carolina counties)
Underlying housing stock and distress indicators across North Carolina counties where we track filings, weighted by filing volume so high-filing counties dominate the rollup. From US Census ACS 5-year data. National reference values shown for context.
| Indicator | North Carolina (weighted) | US average |
|---|---|---|
| Vacancy rate (incl. seasonal + for-sale) | 11.7% | 10.5% |
| Share of owner-occupied units carrying a mortgage | 62.8% | 60.8% |
| Pre-1940 housing stock | 4.9% | 12.3% |
| Single-family detached share | 64.9% | 61.2% |
| Residents age 65 or older | 16.7% | 17.3% |
Source: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS 2023 5-year), filing-weighted across 100 North Carolina counties.
New construction across North Carolina (2025)
Total housing permits filed across the 100 North Carolina counties we track. Trend signal on whether new housing demand is accelerating or contracting state-wide.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Total housing units permitted (2025) | 86,167 |
| Year-over-year change (2024 → 2025) | -9.5% |
| Single-family share of permits | 75.8% |
| Single-family units permitted | 65,303 |
| Multifamily units permitted (2+ units per building) | 20,864 |
Source: US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, summed across 100 North Carolina counties.
Rent benchmark (North Carolina HUD Fair Market Rents, filing-weighted)
HUD Fair Market Rents averaged across 100 North Carolina counties (spanning 71 metro areas), weighted by filing volume. FY 2026. Used to set Section 8 voucher amounts; investors use it as a defensible rent-estimate floor.
| Unit size | Weighted FMR / month |
|---|---|
| Efficiency / studio | $1,152 |
| 1-bedroom | $1,217 |
| 2-bedroom | $1,381 |
| 3-bedroom | $1,759 |
| 4-bedroom | $2,178 |
Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents (2026), filing-weighted across 100 North Carolina counties.
Macro context: home prices and national delinquency
Court-filing volume should be read against the broader housing-market backdrop. North Carolina's home prices and the national mortgage-delinquency rate are the two macro signals most directly relevant to foreclosure exposure.
| Indicator | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina home price index (year-over-year) | +2.4% | 2026-04-01 |
| North Carolina home price index (cumulative since 2020) | +73.2% | 2026-04-01 |
| National mortgage delinquency rate (30+ day, single-family) | 1.86% | 2026-04-01 |
Sources: Federal Housing Finance Agency state house price indices (FRED series NCSTHPI); Federal Reserve Board, Mortgage Delinquency 30+Day Rate on Single-Family Residential Mortgages (FRED series DRSFRMACBS). Updated quarterly.
Local-market benchmark
Demographics of the ZIPs where North Carolina filings cluster, weighted by filing count and benchmarked against Census ACS 2023 5-year:
| Indicator | Filing-weighted average |
|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,401 |
| Median home value | $264,166 |
| Owner-occupancy rate | 52.7% |
| Median gross rent | $1,372/mo |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates, filing-weighted across 10 top ZIPs.
FEMA flood zone exposure across North Carolina
Are distressed properties concentrated in flood-prone areas? By checking each property's coordinates against FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer, we identify which filings fall in Special Flood Hazard Areas (mandatory flood insurance zones). This analysis covers 2110 properties with geocoded locations.
| Flood zone | Properties | % of checked |
|---|---|---|
| X | 2057 | 97.5% |
| AE | 41 | 1.9% |
| X-500yr | 11 | 0.5% |
Source: FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), queried by property coordinates. Zones A/AE/AH/AO/V/VE are Special Flood Hazard Areas (1% annual flood chance, mandatory flood insurance). Zone X is minimal risk. 2110 properties checked.
Methodology and data sources
- Court filings sourced direct from county court dockets in Keystone's North Carolina coverage area via daily automated collection. Court records are public information.
- Every filing is as recorded on the county docket. Entity-owned filings (LLCs, trusts, banks) and stale-owner filings are excluded.
- Property value figures come from third-party enrichment (17% coverage on this dataset).
- Individual case data, defendant names, and property addresses are not published. Reports show aggregated statistics only.
- See /reports/methodology for full data sources, sample sizes, and limitations.
- This report was generated 2026-10-08 from the live database.
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Cite: Keystone Court Data, "North Carolina Court Filings Intelligence," 2026-10-08, https://keystonecourtdata.com/reports/nc-court-filings-intelligence · Download data (CSV)