Pennsylvania Court Filings Intelligence

• 34.3% off-site owners: the share of Pennsylvania filings where the owner's mailing address differs from the property (rental, inherited, second-home, or transitional).
• Max gross cap rate 6.2% at HUD Fair Market Rent ($17,904/year) on the $287,992 median estimated market value. Excludes operating costs.

At a glance

Filing type breakdown

Each row is a distinct case as recorded on the county docket.

Lender concentration analysis

Foreclosure activity is spread across many lenders, suggesting diverse distress sources rather than a single institutional wave.

Lenders in rank order, most active first. Market type reflects how concentrated foreclosure filings are among plaintiffs. Based on foreclosure filings with identified plaintiffs.

ZIP code distress hotspots

Distress is geographically dispersed, with no single ZIP code dominating. The ZIP codes below are ranked by property-related court filings, most active first.

ZIP codes in rank order, most court filings first.

Non-resident owner analysis

34.3% of distressed properties have non-resident owners (the owner's mailing address differs from the property address). These are often rental or investment properties, and landlords in distress tend to be more motivated sellers.

Non-resident = owner's mailing address differs from the property address. Could indicate out-of-state landlords, inherited estates, second homes, or in-transition properties.

Distress composition

Distress diversity score: 6.3 (Shannon entropy across case types; higher = more diverse distress sources). The case-type shares are in the filing type breakdown above.

Top counties by court filings

The Pennsylvania counties with the most property-related court filings, in rank order. Counties with live deep-dive reports are linked. See all Pennsylvania counties we cover →

County-by-county comparison dashboard

Across the counties we cover, York County has the most property-related court filings; Chester County has the highest median property value; Lackawanna County has the highest non-resident owner rate.

Counties in rank order, most court filings first; counties with too few filings to compare are excluded. Median value based on public property records; the top case type is the county's most common filing type.

Property value distribution

Median: $287,992. Mean: $369,623. From third-party property enrichment.

Housing stock + distress signals (filing-weighted across Pennsylvania counties)

Underlying housing stock and distress indicators across Pennsylvania counties in Keystone's coverage, weighted by filing volume so high-filing counties dominate the rollup. From US Census ACS 5-year data. National reference values shown for context.

Source: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS 2023 5-year), filing-weighted across Pennsylvania counties.

New construction across Pennsylvania (2025)

Total housing permits filed across the Pennsylvania counties we track. Trend signal on whether new housing demand is accelerating or contracting state-wide.

Source: US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, summed across Pennsylvania counties.

Rent benchmark (Pennsylvania HUD Fair Market Rents, filing-weighted)

HUD Fair Market Rents averaged across Pennsylvania counties (spanning 50 metro areas), weighted by filing volume. FY 2026. Used to set Section 8 voucher amounts; investors use it as a defensible rent-estimate floor.

Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents (2026), filing-weighted across Pennsylvania counties.

Macro context: home prices and national delinquency

Court-filing volume should be read against the broader housing-market backdrop. Pennsylvania's home prices and the national mortgage-delinquency rate are the two macro signals most directly relevant to foreclosure exposure.

Sources: Federal Housing Finance Agency state house price indices (FRED series PASTHPI); 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 Pennsylvania filings cluster, weighted by filing count and benchmarked against Census ACS 2023 5-year:

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates, filing-weighted across 10 top ZIPs.

Most active foreclosure plaintiffs in Pennsylvania

Top mortgage holders and servicers named in Pennsylvania foreclosure complaints. Names are normalized to collapse common legal-suffix variants.

Source: public foreclosure filings in Pennsylvania. Court records are public information.

Property Value Profile

Based on public property records for properties with court filings across Pennsylvania. Values are tax-assessed amounts, not market listing prices.

Investment Opportunity Score by ZIP Code

ZIP 17403 (York) ranks first on the composite opportunity score in Pennsylvania. ZIP codes are listed in rank order, highest score first.

The score blends court-filing activity, property value, absentee-owner rate and case-type diversity. Compare ZIPs within the same county or state, not across markets.

Based on court filings across scored ZIP codes in Pennsylvania. ZIPs with too few filings to score are excluded. Property values from public property records.

Property Type Distribution

Property classifications from public property records for filings with a classified property across Pennsylvania. Categories normalized from public-record property classes.

Property Age & Distress Profile

Among filings with year-built data, the Pre-1960 construction era is most common (53%). Newer properties (2000+) average $720,315, 1.6x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($445,750).

Value trend: Properties from the 2000+ era average $720,315, which is 1.62x the value of Pre-1960 stock ($445,750).

Construction year sourced from public property records across Pennsylvania. Value is assessed value from the most recent available tax assessment.

Municipality filing concentration across Pennsylvania

York has the most property-related court filings in Pennsylvania, predominantly Judgment: Tax Claim. Distress is dispersed across many municipalities.

Municipalities in rank order, most court filings first, among filings with a municipality on record. Municipality names from public property records.

Property Value Distribution

The median property value in distressed filings is $286,813, with the largest concentration (24.5%) in the $500K+ range. No Lien Agreement filings have the highest median value ($4,148,184) while Filing filings are lowest ($470).

Assessed property values from public property records for filings with a valuation across Pennsylvania. Values reflect tax-assessed amounts, not market price.

Ownership Duration Before Filing

The median ownership duration before a court filing is 10.0 years, with 50.1% of owners holding the property 10+ years (a strong equity signal for investors). Complaint In Mandamus cases show the longest tenure (29.8 yr median) vs. Civil Nr Agreement Mechanic'S Agreement (0.5 yr).

Duration calculated from last recorded property sale to court filing date, for filings with a recorded prior sale, across Pennsylvania. Longer ownership often correlates with higher equity.

Land vs improvement value composition

Across properties with assessed value breakdowns, the median land share is 22.6% (median land value $24,740, median improvement value $79,795). 5.1% of properties are land-dominant (50%+ land value), which makes them potential teardown or vacant-lot targets. Default Judgment cases skew most land-heavy (median 91.8%) while Civil: Appeals Agencies: Board Of Assessment skews most improvement-heavy (2.1%).

Land share distribution

Land share by case type

Analysis of Pennsylvania properties with assessed land and improvement value breakdowns. Land-dominant properties (50%+ land value) may represent teardown candidates or vacant lots. Improvement-heavy properties (under 20% land) typically indicate rehab opportunities.

FEMA flood zone exposure across Pennsylvania

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 properties with geocoded locations.

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.

How foreclosure works in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is a judicial foreclosure state. Residential mortgage foreclosures go through the county Court of Common Pleas, and the property is sold at a sheriff sale.

Pennsylvania has no fixed foreclosure length. The Act 6 and Act 91 notices come before the complaint, and the law sets minimum notice periods (below), not a total length; each county’s Court of Common Pleas calendar, its conciliation or diversion programs and the sheriff’s scheduling of the sale set the pace.

Day counts below are estimates from the first missed payment, not set by law.

1. Default (estimated Day 0): The borrower falls behind on mortgage payments. For a principal residence, federal servicing rules generally bar a foreclosure filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent (12 CFR 1024.41(f)).
2. Act 6 notice (estimated Day 60–90): For a residential mortgage (an original principal amount at or under the state base figure, on a property with two or fewer residential units), the lender sends a notice of intention to foreclose by registered or certified mail at least thirty days before accelerating or filing. It states the default, the right to cure and what it takes to cure (Act 6 of 1974, section 403).
3. Act 91 notice (HEMAP) (estimated Day 60–90): The Act 91 notice tells the homeowner about the Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), a state loan program for eligible owner-occupied one- or two-family homes. PHFA says that to put the foreclosure process on hold, the homeowner must have a face-to-face meeting with a listed counseling agency within 33 days of the date of the Act 91 notice.
4. Complaint filed (estimated Day 120–180): The lender files a complaint in the county Court of Common Pleas. This is the first public court record.
5. Service of process (estimated Day 150–210): The borrower is served. Court rules set twenty days after service to file the next pleading when the complaint carries a notice to defend (Pa.R.C.P. 1026).
6. Answer period ends (estimated Day 170–230): If no answer is filed, the lender can seek a default judgment. Preliminary objections may be filed instead of an answer.
7. Default or summary judgment (estimated Day 210–360): The court enters judgment in the foreclosure, and a writ of execution goes to the county sheriff.
8. Sheriff sale notice (estimated Day 240–420): Written notice of the sale is served on the owner and lienholders at least thirty days before the sale, and the sale is published once a week for three successive weeks, with the first ad at least twenty-one days before the sale (Pa.R.C.P. 3129.2).
9. Sheriff sale (estimated Day 300–540): Public auction run by the county sheriff. Payment terms are set by each sheriff.
10. Distribution and deed (estimated Day 310–570): Within thirty days after the sale the sheriff files a proposed schedule of distribution; written exceptions are due within ten days after it is filed (Pa.R.C.P. 3136). A petition to set the sale aside can be filed before the sheriff’s deed is delivered (Pa.R.C.P. 3132).

Redemption: This guide found no statutory right to redeem a home after a mortgage foreclosure sheriff sale. The main protection comes before the sale: the Act 6 right to cure (Act 6 of 1974, section 404).

Deficiency judgments: If the lender (the judgment creditor) buys the home at the sheriff sale and the price does not cover the judgment, interest and costs, it petitions the court to fix the property’s fair market value (42 Pa.C.S. § 8103), within six months after the sheriff’s deed is delivered (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522(b)(2)). The debtor is released to the extent of that value (less prior liens and other listed amounts), not just the sale price.

Reinstatement: For an Act 6 residential mortgage, after the notice of intention is given, the debtor can cure the default and stop the sale at any time at least one hour before bidding starts at the sheriff sale, by paying what would be due without the default plus reasonable fees, costs and any late charge in the loan papers. This cure can be used no more than three times in a calendar year (Act 6 of 1974, section 404).

Mediation: This guide found no statewide foreclosure mediation statute. Some counties, Philadelphia among them, run court conciliation or diversion programs for homeowners; each county sets its own rules.

Full guide: How foreclosure works in Pennsylvania. Federal servicing rules: the CFPB 120-day pre-foreclosure rule (12 CFR 1024.41(f)).

General information about Pennsylvania law, checked October 2026. Day ranges are estimates and may not match a specific case. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Talk to an attorney licensed in Pennsylvania before relying on it.

Read more: Pennsylvania foreclosure timeline and the foreclosure timeline by state.

Methodology and data sources

• Based on public court filings, analyzed by Keystone. As of October 2026. Court records are public information.
• These statistics describe property-related court filings in the Pennsylvania counties we cover. The owner-of-record match and the entity-owner screen are applied to delivered leads, not to these aggregate statistics.
• Property value figures come from property records where available.
• 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 is current as of October 2026 (generated 2026-10-25).

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