Technology

ZOMBIE FORECLOSURES SHRINK TO EVEN SMALLER PORTION OF U.S. HOUSING STOCK IN SECOND QUARTER

Published

2 years ago

May 30, 2024

Drop-off in Zombie Homes Tracks Broad Slowdown in Lenders Pursuing Delinquent Homeowners

IRVINE, Calif., May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its second-quarter 2024 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report showing that 1.3 million (1,289,387) residential properties in the United States sit vacant. That figure represents about 1.3 percent, or one in 79 homes, across the nation – the same as in the first quarter of this year.

The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM — including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data. (See full methodology below).

The report also reveals that 237,208 residential properties in the U.S. are in the process of foreclosure in the second quarter of this year, down 2.3 percent from the first quarter of 2024 and down 23.9 percent from the second quarter of 2023. Foreclosure activity has declined this year following a surge in cases that hit after a nationwide moratorium on lenders pursuing delinquent homeowners, imposed during the Coronavirus pandemic, was lifted in the middle of 2021.

Among those pre-foreclosure properties are about 6,945 sitting vacant as zombie foreclosures (pre-foreclosure properties abandoned by owners) in the second quarter of 2024. That figure is also down from the prior quarter, by 5.4 percent, and down 20.6 percent from a year ago.

The latest count of zombie homes continues a long-term pattern of those properties representing only a tiny portion of the nation’s total housing stock – currently at just one of every 14,724 homes around the U.S. The ratio is down from 13,905 in the prior quarter and from one in 11,577 in the second quarter of last year, to the lowest level since early 2021. Zombie foreclosures numbers remain so small that most neighborhoods around the country face little or no threat of the blight and decay those homes can spread.

The portion of pre-foreclosure properties that have been abandoned into zombie status, meanwhile, also went down slightly, from 3 percent in the first quarter of 2024 to 2.9 percent in the current quarter.

“Predictions of a huge spike in foreclosures after the moratorium, with the potential for a surge in zombie properties, never came true. Indeed, the opposite has happened, as abandoned homes in foreclosure continue to get harder and harder to find around the country,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “Some signs have popped up over the past year that the long U.S. housing market boom is giving back some of its gains, which could lead to declining equity and more foreclosures. We are still far from losing the benefit of having zombie properties nearly disappear from the housing market landscape.”

The dip in the number of zombie properties during the second quarter comes as the housing market remains buoyed by 12 years of price increases despite the recent markers of a slowdown.

The nationwide median home value dropped quarterly in the early months of 2024 by 4 percent, to $330,000, but was still up 3 percent from a year earlier, according to ATTOM’s home sales analysis. It has increased every year since 2012, more than doubling during that time. Those gains have fueled a historic rise in homeowner wealth to the point where almost 95 percent of owners paying off mortgages have at least some equity built up and nearly 50 percent owe less than half the estimated value of their properties.

Zombie foreclosures drop in more than half the country, remaining a non-issue in most neighborhoods

A total of 6,945 residential properties facing possible foreclosure have been vacated by their owners nationwide in the second quarter of 2024, down from 7,338 in the first quarter of 2024 and 8,752 in the second quarter of 2023. The number of zombie properties has decreased quarterly in 30 states and annually in 38.

As those numbers keep dwindling, the biggest decreases from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2024 in states with at least 50 zombie homes are in Ohio (zombie properties down 22 percent, from 597 to 466), Maryland (down 17 percent, from 104 to 86), South Carolina (down 14 percent, from 74 to 64), California (down 13 percent, from 310 to 269), and North Carolina (down 12 percent, from 67 to 59).

The only quarterly increases among states with at least 50 zombie foreclosures are in Massachusetts (zombie properties up 12 percent, from 68 to 76) and Illinois (up 1 percent, from 719 to 724).

Overall vacancy rates continue to hold steady

The vacancy rate for all residential properties in the U.S. has remained virtually the same for eight quarters in a row. It stands at 1.26 percent (one in 79 properties), unchanged from the first quarter of 2024 and virtually the same as the 1.27 percent level in the second quarter of last year.

States with the largest vacancy rates for all residential properties during the second quarter of this year are Oklahoma (2.27 percent), Kansas (2.18 percent), Missouri (2.06 percent), Alabama (2.04 percent) and Michigan (2.02 percent).

Those with the smallest overall vacancy rates are New Hampshire (0.36 percent), New Jersey (0.41 percent), Vermont (0.44 percent), Idaho (0.47 percent) and California (0.64 percent).

Other high-level findings from the second quarter of 2024:

Among 168 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. with at least 100,000 residential properties in the second quarter of 2024, those with at least 100 properties facing possible foreclosure and the highest zombie foreclosure rates are Peoria, IL (18.6 percent of properties in the foreclosure process are vacant); Wichita, KS (8.4 percent); Cedar Rapids, IA (8.3 percent); Shreveport, LA (8.3 percent) and St. Louis, MO (7.8 percent).

Aside from St. Louis, the highest zombie-foreclosure rates in major metro areas with at least 500,000 residential properties and at least 100 homes facing foreclosure in the second quarter of 2024 are in Cleveland, OH (7.2 percent of homes in the foreclosure process are vacant); Indianapolis, IN (6.5 percent); Baltimore, MD (5.2 percent) and Portland, OR (4.6 percent).

Among the 35.1 million investor-owned homes throughout the U.S. in the second quarter of 2024, about 905,600 are vacant, or 2.6 percent. The highest levels of vacant investor-owned homes are in Indiana (5.5 percent vacant), Oklahoma (4.5 percent), Alabama (4.3 percent), Missouri (4.3 percent) and Kansas (4.1 percent).

Among the roughly 11,400 foreclosed, bank-owned homes in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2024, 14.3 percent are vacant. In states with at least 50 bank-owned homes, the largest vacancy rates are in Ohio (26.6 percent), Indiana (23.3 percent), Illinois (21.2 percent), Michigan (20.5 percent) and Oregon (20.3).

The highest zombie-foreclosure rates in U.S. counties with at least 500 properties in the foreclosure process during the second quarter of 2024 are in Broome County (Binghamton), NY (15 percent of homes in the foreclosure process are vacant); Marion County (Indianapolis), IN (9.3 percent); Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), OH (7.6 percent); Erie County (Buffalo), NY (6.6 percent) and Volusia County (Daytona Beach), FL (5.9 percent).

Among zip codes with enough data to analyze, 89 of the top 100 where zombie properties represent the largest portions of all homes are in New York, Florida and Illinois. The largest portions are in zip codes 61605 in Peoria County, IL (one in 151 homes); 32206 in Duval County (Jacksonville), FL (one in 256); 10993 in Rockland County (West Haverstraw), NY (one in 287 homes); 61603 in Peoria County, IL (one in 296) and 10030 in New York County (Manhattan), NY (one in 303).

Report Methodology

ATTOM analyzed county tax assessor data for 102.3 million residential properties for vacancy, broken down by foreclosure status and owner-occupancy status in the second quarter of 2024. Only metropolitan statistical areas with at least 100,000 residential properties, counties with at least 50,000 residential properties and zip codes with at least 1,000 residential properties were included in the analysis.

About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency, and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 30TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include ATTOM Cloud, bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property navigator and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, making property data more readily accessible and optimized for AI applications– AI-Ready Solutions.

Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
megan.hunt@attomdata.com

Data and Report Licensing:
datareports@attomdata.com

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SOURCE ATTOM

Technology

New Datingsmatch Survey: 1 in 5 Users Say a Wink Led to a Conversation

Published

22 minutes ago

July 19, 2026

New findings from a Datingsmatch.com user survey show that the smallest gestures are doing more of the communication work than most people realize.

GIBRALTAR, July 19, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — People tend to think about opening messages as the moment a conversation actually starts online. The carefully worded introduction, the line someone spent time writing and then rewrote. What the data from a recent Datingsmatch survey points to is something different: for a meaningful share of users, none of that is where things began. It began with a wink.

According to the survey, 1 in 5 users of Datingsmatch reported that a wink was what got a conversation going. One-fifth of respondents, spread across different age groups and usage habits, identified that a single small gesture as the moment something actually started between two people.

What the Datingsmatch Survey Found

The survey was conducted among 5,000 users of the Datingsmatch online communication platform in June 2026, with participants asked to voluntarily share their experiences. The aim was to get a clearer picture of how conversations tend to begin, what it is that people hesitate about, and what eventually prompts someone to go ahead and reach out.

The wink finding was among the more consistent findings from the responses. Among users who described a conversation they felt good about, a notable portion were able to trace it back to a wink being sent first, whether they had sent it or received it. The reverse situation, where someone sent a cold message with no prior signal of any kind, was something respondents described as harder on both sides of the exchange.

That tracks with what broader research also points to. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 55% of online daters felt insecure about the number of messages they received, and 36% felt overwhelmed by incoming contact. What that suggests is not that people don’t want to connect — it’s that the way contact gets initiated matters a great deal for how it lands.

Why Small Signals Carry More Weight Than They Seem

The Datingsmatch survey also looked at what stops people from reaching out when they want to. Uncertainty came up repeatedly. Not knowing whether someone is open to hearing from you. Not wanting to guess wrong and feel like you’ve overstepped.

What respondents described is not a lack of interest in connecting. It’s the absence of a clear enough signal that the other person is open to it. A Datingsmatch wink feature provides exactly that. It’s visible, unambiguous, and low-commitment enough that neither person has to feel exposed by it. For those still finding their footing on the platform, the beginner’s guide to the Datingsmatch platform walks through how these features work and how to use them effectively.

This connects to a 2024 study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking that examined online rejection: ghosting was the most common form of rejection in digital communication, even after substantial prior exchanges. The fear that a message will simply be ignored — without any acknowledgment — is a real barrier. A lower-stakes signal reduces that barrier because the cost of no response feels smaller.

Datingsmatch notes, based on what survey participants shared, that this kind of low-friction signal seems to work differently than most people expect. It doesn’t just start conversations. It seems to reduce the gap that many users described feeling between “I want to reach out” and “I actually did.”

How People Actually Use the Wink Feature on Datingsmatch

Survey responses offered a more specific picture of the behavior. Winks were not being used randomly or as a form of mass outreach. Respondents described using them deliberately, on users they had spent time looking at, toward people they were genuinely interested in but not yet sure about approaching with a message.

Some users described sending a wink as a way of checking whether there was any openness to further contact, without having to commit to a full message exchange in order to find out. Others who had been on the receiving end of a wink said it was something they found easier to respond to, in part because it did not feel like it was asking too much of them too soon. There were also respondents who noted that when a wink had gone back and forth between two people, the first actual message felt less like an approach out of nowhere and more like a natural continuation of something that had already started.

Datingsmatch customer service regularly hears from users that knowing how to start a conversation is one of the things people think about most when they first join the platform. The survey data puts some numbers to what those conversations have long suggested.

What This Means for How the Platform Thinks About Connection

Datingsmatch highlights that findings like these shape how the platform continues to think about the role of small, low-pressure interactions in the overall experience. A conversation that begins with a wink is not a lesser conversation. Survey respondents who traced their most valued exchanges back to a wink described those conversations in consistently positive terms.

The platform sees value in giving users multiple ways to signal interest at different levels of commitment. A message is a commitment. A wink is an invitation. Both have a place, and the data suggests that for a meaningful portion of users, the invitation comes first and matters more than it might look like from the outside.

About Datingsmatch

Datingsmatch is an online communication platform that gives people a range of ways to connect online. The platform is built around the idea that how a conversation starts shapes everything that follows, and that not every interaction needs to begin with a message. Datingsmatch operates globally and continues to develop its communication tools based on how users actually engage with each other.

Media Contact

Elizabeth Fielden, Datingsmatch, 1 5869132511, review@datingsmatch.com, https://datingsmatch.com/

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SOURCE Datingsmatch

Technology

Pudu Robotics Showcases Full Product Portfolio at WAIC 2026, Winning the “Most Investor-Attractive Enterprise” Award

Published

3 hours ago

July 19, 2026

SHANGHAI, July 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pudu Robotics, a global leader in commercial service robotics, is showcasing its full portfolio of intelligent robotics solutions at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), held from July 17–20 in Shanghai. A key highlight of this year’s exhibition is the offline global debut of the PUDU D7, Pudu’s next-generation semi-humanoid robot. In tandem with its exhibition highlights, Pudu Robotics was also honored with the 36Kr “Most Investor-Attractive AI & Embodied Intelligence Enterprise” Award, recognizing the company’s growing influence in the embodied AI sector and continued confidence from the investment community.

Full Product Matrix on Display: Demonstrating Multi-Scenario Capabilities

Pudu’s comprehensive presentation at WAIC 2026 showcased its complete technical and product layout, spanning service delivery, commercial cleaning, industrial delivery, and general embodied intelligence.

The PUDU D5 quadruped robot demonstrates advanced terrain adaptability and autonomous navigation across an on-site obstacle course mimicking sand, gravel, steps, and slopes, simulating autonomous inspections in complex environments such as power substations and industrial parks. Additionally, the D5 performed high-speed “drifting” demonstrations at the booth, reaching peak speeds of up to 5 m/s and showcasing industry-leading mobility and responsiveness.

Making its global offline public debut, the PUDU D7 engaged visitors with several immersive and interactive live experiences. Attendees posed for photos with the D7, instantly receiving unique snapshots taken directly from a “robotics perspective.” The robot also demonstrated advanced multi-robot coordination by autonomously walking and guiding the PUDU D5 quadruped around the booth while seamlessly avoiding pedestrian traffic, vividly illustrating collaborative workflows between different robotic form factors.

Pudu is also exhibiting its mature commercial robotics portfolio, including the BellaBot service delivery robot, the PUDU T300 industrial delivery robot, and the PUDU MT1 Max and PUDU CC1 Pro commercial cleaning robots. Together, these products highlight Pudu’s proven deployments across hospitality, retail, F&B, manufacturing, warehousing, and other industries.

Winning the “Most Investor-Attractive Enterprise” Award Amid Sustained Capital Traction

The “Most Investor-Attractive Enterprise” award from 36Kr arrives alongside sustained backing from major global institutional investors. In April 2026, Pudu Robotics completed a new financing round of nearly USD 150 million, bringing its valuation to more than USD 1.5 billion. This brings Pudu’s cumulative funding to more than USD 300 million.

This strong capital interest is supported by concrete commercial performance. According to the “2025 Global Embodied Intelligence and Commercial Service Robotics Independent Market Research Report” released by Frost & Sullivan, Pudu Robotics accounts for 25% and 23% of the global commercial service robotics market in terms of revenue and shipments respectively, ranking No. 1 worldwide in both categories. Furthermore, Pudu Robotics has maintained a year-over-year revenue growth rate exceeding 100%, with international markets accounting for more than 80% of total revenue for consecutive years. While the broader Embodied AI industry remains in early exploratory phases, Pudu has approached a positive EBITDA, achieving large-scale commercial viability ahead of the market.

From Product Export to Ecosystem Integration: A Blueprint for Global Expansion

According to the Research Report on Chinese Enterprises’ Overseas Expansion from 2025 to 2026 published by the 36Kr Research Institute, Pudu Robotics was featured as a primary benchmark case study for Embodied AI. The report attributes Pudu’s international success to its systematic combination of technological innovation, product capabilities, and localized global operation. Analysts noted that Pudu has successfully transitioned from exporting products to exporting global brand equity and integrated robotics ecosystems, establishing a core reference blueprint for hard-tech global expansion.

By deploying versatile product forms that span specialized, semi-humanoid, and humanoid forms, Pudu Robotics continues to focus on integrating Embodied AI directly into real-world environments—transforming Physical AI from a technical concept into a practical productivity partner.

About Pudu Robotics

Pudu Robotics, a global leader in the commercial service robotics sector, is dedicated to empowering easier work and better lives through AI and robotics, with a vision of building a global intelligent robotics infrastructure that serves 10 billion people worldwide.

Pudu Robotics has developed key core technologies and components, including robotic joint modules and motion controllers, and has filed more than 1,900 patent applications worldwide. Built on three core technologies—Embodied Navigation, Embodied Manipulation, and Embodied Interaction—Pudu Robotics has pioneered a “One Brain, Multiple Embodiments” architecture, establishing a comprehensive product portfolio that includes specialized, semi-humanoid, and humanoid robots.

Currently, Pudu offers four major product lines: service delivery, commercial cleaning, industrial delivery and general embodied AI. Its solutions are widely deployed across industries such as retail, hospitality, manufacturing, real estate and property services, healthcare, entertainment and sport, education, and public services.

To date, Pudu Robotics has shipped over 130,000 units globally, with a presence in more than 85 countries and regions.

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SOURCE Pudu Robotics

Technology

Best AI Productivity Tools for Creators (2026): CapCut Recognized for Faster Video and Image Workflows by Software Experts

Published

4 hours ago

July 19, 2026

NEW YORK, July 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Artificial intelligence continues to reshape how digital content is produced, with creators relying on AI tools like CapCut to handle editing, asset generation, and repetitive production tasks that once required several separate applications. As these tools mature, software reviews are placing more weight on workflow efficiency alongside creative output.

Best AI Productivity Tools for Creators

Seedance 2.0 – an AI video generation model that creates videos from text prompts and image inputsPhoto to 3D – an AI tool that transforms 2D photos into images with realistic three-dimensional depth and effects

The use of AI has expanded across independent creators, marketing teams, educators, and small businesses producing content for websites, social media, online stores, and digital campaigns. Rather than using AI for a single task, many creative professionals now incorporate it throughout the production process, from generating concepts and visuals to refining finished content. This has encouraged software reviewers to test how well platforms support complete creative workflows instead of evaluating individual features in isolation.

Software Experts has included CapCut among its 2026 selections for AI productivity tools for creators, citing the platform’s collection of AI-powered features that support faster video and image production. The review examined how integrated AI tools can simplify common creative tasks across video editing, image generation, music creation, and visual enhancement.

What Is Driving Interest in AI Productivity Tools?

Content creators are producing more material than ever across short-form video platforms, social media, online stores, blogs, newsletters, and marketing campaigns. A single project may require multiple image formats, several video versions, captions, background edits, and audio, all within a short production window.

Many creators also repurpose one piece of content into several formats. A long-form video may be edited into short clips for social platforms, paired with custom graphics, accompanied by AI-generated music, and published alongside promotional images. Completing these tasks manually often requires switching between multiple editing applications.

This has encouraged software developers to introduce AI features that reduce manual editing while keeping creators in control of the finished product. Instead of switching between several applications, many creators now prefer platforms that support multiple stages of production within the same workspace.

How Does CapCut Support Video and Image Workflows?

CapCut offers AI tools that assist throughout the creative process, from generating visual assets to preparing finished content for publishing.

Among the tools included are:

Seedance 2.0 for generating AI videos from text promptsGPT Image 2 for creating images from written descriptionsSeedream for AI-generated artwork and creative visualsSeedmusic for producing original music from text promptsAI Image Extender for expanding images while preserving visual consistencyPhoto to 3D for adding depth effects to imagesAI Background Removal for separating subjects from image backgrounds with minimal editing

Together, these features support projects ranging from social media posts and marketing materials to promotional videos, educational content, presentations, and visual concepts, allowing creators to complete more production tasks within a single platform.

Why Are Integrated AI Platforms Receiving More Coverage?

Earlier AI tools often specialized in a single task, such as image generation or video editing. Newer platforms are bringing these functions together to let creators complete more of their work without transferring files between multiple services.

This type of workflow can shorten production time while helping maintain visual consistency across different content formats. It can also reduce the amount of time spent exporting files, reformatting assets, or rebuilding projects in separate applications.

As a result, software evaluations are increasingly examining how efficiently creators can complete everyday production work. Instead of concentrating solely on the number of AI features available, reviewers are also looking at how those tools function together during real-world creative projects.

What Did Software Experts Evaluate?

The review looked at AI tools that support practical creative work across multiple production stages rather than concentrating on a single feature.

Areas included in the evaluation included:

AI-assisted video generationText-to-image creationAI-generated musicBackground removalImage expansionThree-dimensional visual effectsEditing tools that support faster creative workflows

The review also examined how these features work together during typical content production rather than evaluating each tool separately. This reflects the way many creators now build content using interconnected AI tools instead of isolated editing software.

What Does This Mean for Creators?

Creative software continues to incorporate AI across more stages of content production, giving creators additional ways to streamline editing while maintaining creative control. As publishing schedules become more demanding, workflow efficiency has entered software evaluations alongside editing quality and creative flexibility.

Software Experts’ 2026 review places CapCut among AI productivity tools supporting faster video and image workflows through its collection of AI-powered creative features. As AI continues to influence digital content production, reviews are placing emphasis on how effectively platforms help creators complete everyday projects from concept through final publication.

To read the full review, please visit the Software experts website.

About CapCut

CapCut is an AI-powered photo and video editing platform designed to make high-quality video creation accessible across devices. The platform supports creators, businesses, and everyday users with tools for video editing, AI video generation, captions, templates, audio, and visual editing. CapCut is available across mobile, web, desktop, and iPad experiences, helping users create, edit, and prepare video content for social media, marketing, education, and personal projects.

About Software Experts: Software Experts delivers in-depth news on the digital tools shaping today’s consumer experience. As an affiliate, Software Experts may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided.

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SOURCE SoftwareExperts.org