Indiana
Indiana led U.S. in February foreclosure rates, Indy among worst metros
Affordable housing is limited in Hamilton County. Here’s why.
Jennifer Miller, HAND’s executive director, shows Home Place Gardens and speaks about the need for affordable housing in Carmel and Hamilton County.
Kelly Wilkinson, Indianapolis Star
At a time when “affordability” is the watchword in politics nationwide, recent data shows that Hoosiers faced more risk of losing their homes last month than residents in any other state.
Indiana reported the nation’s highest foreclosure filing rate in February, according to real estate data company ATTOM. What’s more, the Indianapolis region ranked among the worst-performing major metro areas.
The findings contradict the view of Indiana and the Indianapolis region as affordable havens where residents can more easily own homes. Experts say that home prices remain low compared with other states but have risen steeply since 2020, increasing property taxes. Upticks in other expenses like homeowners’ insurance and utilities, along with stagnant wage growth, have put an increasing number of Hoosiers at risk of losing their homes.
“This is a bad look for us in general, and it does indicate that our affordability problem is kind of reaching a crisis,” said Sara Coers, associate director of the Indiana University Center for Real Estate Studies. “We have a lower natural ceiling on what we can afford because of the wages that we receive here.”
What Indiana foreclosure data shows
Last month, about one in every 1,600 housing units in Indiana had a foreclosure filing, which means lenders took legal action against a homeowner who failed to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments. That foreclosure filing rate was the worst in the nation and more than twice as high as the average U.S. rate, the data shows.
The situation is even worse in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, which landed at No. 3 among metros with over 200,000 people with the worst foreclosure filing rates.
In the Indianapolis region, roughly one in every 1,250 housing units had a foreclosure filing — about three times worse than the national average. Evansville was the only other Indiana metro to make the list, right behind Indy at No. 4.
The problem isn’t new, but it’s growing worse. After falling between 2020 and 2021 thanks to pandemic relief programs, Indiana’s foreclosure filing rates have since rebounded. Throughout 2025, Indiana consistently ranked among the 10 worst states, according to the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.
What’s behind the affordability crisis
Experts like Coers and FHCCI Executive Director Amy Nelson say the recent spike in foreclosure filings is in part due to rising escrow amounts — monthly payments for property expenses like taxes and homeowners’ insurance.
From 2019 to 2025, Indiana’s average escrow payment rose more than 50%, according to data analytics company Cotality. Today, about one-third of the money that Hoosier homeowners send to lenders each month goes toward those escrow costs, rather than paying down the home loan itself.
Beyond those property costs, residents are consistently spending more money on electricity bills, groceries and now gasoline, because of the war in Iran.
Higher costs especially strain residents in Indiana, a state where wage growth has lagged further behind the U.S. average in recent years, IU’s Indiana Business Research Center reports. More Hoosiers work lower-wage jobs in manufacturing or transportation than the national average, Coers said, and therefore they struggle to weather economic crises.
“Credit card usage is way up, savings rates are way down, and people just don’t have anything to back them up if things don’t go perfectly,” Coers said. “And if your expenses keep rising, but your wages are not keeping pace, it’s just really hard to stay abreast of your own household expenses.”
Households can often avoid foreclosure proceedings by being upfront about their financial struggles with lenders and finding alternate payment plans, said Trevor Meeks, chief consumer solutions officer for the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. Instead of losing the home through foreclosure, they might be able to sell it to help cover housing costs while they recover.
He said he’s worked with local families who found themselves in financial crises after losing jobs or working reduced hours. He mentioned one single-parent household that was forced to choose between paying for their child’s college tuition and paying the mortgage.
“Our mortgage borrower made the very difficult decision to cover the cost of tuition themselves and jeopardized their ability to make the mortgage payment on time,” Meeks said.
How Indiana leaders are responding
Indiana lawmakers in both political parties have increasingly called affordability a top concern, including Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun.
In a March 19 interview with IndyStar, Braun noted that Hoosier homeowners will soon get some relief as his sweeping property tax reform law, Senate Enrolled Act 1, takes effect this year. Two-thirds of homeowners are projected to see a lower property tax bill in 2026 than last year, mainly through tax credits that will save households up to $300.
With policies like this year’s House Enrolled Act 1001, Republicans also took steps to reduce the cost and regulatory burden on homebuilders so they can build more housing to help ease prices, Braun said.
To tackle the other side of the issue and boost wages, the governor said he’s pushing the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to create 100,000 more high-wage jobs in agricultural and life sciences in Indiana over the next decade. He said the state will commit $1 billion to that goal.
Braun’s property tax reforms have been criticized for offering meager savings to homeowners while sapping revenue from local governments, likely forcing leaders to make cuts to services like education and infrastructure unless they impose higher income taxes.
But Braun said Indiana’s staggering foreclosure filing rate shows that households need relief and local governments need to make do with less.
“I think if local governments are complaining about revenues being too slim, well, that obviously would be something that’d be hard to square with the fact that property tax payers, specifically as it relates to homes, are having trouble making ends meet,” Braun said. “So that means something’s got to give in the middle.”
Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@indystar.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.
A beloved tradition is drawing stitchers, shoppers, and curious newcomers across the region.
If you have ever walked into a quilt shop “just to look,” you already know how that story ends. One minute you are admiring a cheerful stack of fabric with names like sunflower, buttercream, and cardinal red, and the next you are seriously considering whether your house has room for a new table runner, a holiday wall hanging, and perhaps a life-changing bundle of fat quarters. Quilt shops have that effect. They are part treasure hunt, part therapy session, part color explosion, and in Southeastern Indiana, they are also some of the friendliest gathering places around.
That is especially true during the ALL INDIANA SHOP HOP, the statewide sewing and quilting event running through June 30, 2026.
The idea is delightfully simple: visit participating quilt shops, collect passport stamps, pick up thank-you gifts, and become eligible for prizes. The official event even describes it as a quilting version of a bar crawl, only with less late-night regret and more batting, bobbins, and beautiful fabric. There is even a youth passport for ages 8 to 17, which is a nice reminder that quilting is not just a pastime handed down from grandparents. It is also being discovered by a new generation who like making things by hand, repurposing fabric to help the environment, learning skills online, and sharing their creations proudly.
And really, quilting has everything going for it. It is practical, creative, social, and just a little bit magical.
A quilt can be a baby gift, a comfort during a hard season, a graduation present, a family heirloom, or simply a way to make a couch look much more put together than the people sitting on it. Quilters are surgeons with rotary cutters, artists with thread, and storytellers with fabric. They notice pattern, texture, memory, and meaning. Even non-quilters tend to fall under the spell. You do not need to know how to piece a block to appreciate the patience, skill, and imagination it takes to turn small shapes into something that warms both the room and the people in it.
That is one reason local quilt shops matter so much.
Yes, they sell fabric, books, notions, patterns, batting, and tools that can make a beginner feel both excited and slightly underqualified. But they also do something online shopping cannot: they welcome people in. Good quilt shops are places where somebody will help you match prints, explain what on earth a layer cake is, admire your progress, and gently steer you away from a fabric choice you may regret in broad daylight. They are equal parts classroom, clubhouse, and creative headquarters.
Southeastern Indiana is lucky to have several shops that make a Shop Hop route feel less like an errand list and more like a mini road trip with excellent scenery and even better conversation.
In Versailles, The Quilter’s Nook has become a creative quilting and sewing destination with classes, learning opportunities, and plenty of supplies and inspiration for anyone wanting to sharpen their skills or finally start that project they have been thinking about for two years. In Greensburg, Tree City Stitches is known for its premium fabrics, project kits, classes, and welcoming atmosphere, with plenty of samples on display to spark ideas before you even make it to the cutting counter.
In Vevay, Cardinal Quilts offers a deep fabric selection, quilting classes, and longarm services, making it the kind of place where serious quilters can stock up and newcomers can get helpful guidance without a trace of intimidation. And in Madison, L&L Yard Goods has been operating in the same location since 1986, offering quilting essentials, classes, and the sort of steady hometown presence that makes people come back year after year.
Together, these shops help keep quilting visible, vibrant, and local.
They also provide handmade quilts for community projects, children’s hospitals, veterans, and emergency services just like the early quilters did centuries ago.
So if your summer plans could use a little more color, a little more small-town charm,
and maybe a little more excuse to buy fabric you absolutely do not need but definitely deserve, the Shop Hop is calling. Bring a friend, bring your passport, and bring a willingness to be delighted by places where craftsmanship still matters and people still make beautiful things with their hands.
In Southeastern Indiana, quilting is more than a hobby.
It is history from the days of early pioneers, hospitality that warms you, creativity and community all stitched together one square at a time.
INDIANAPOLIS (WNDU) – South Bend muralist Alex Ann Allen is one of three finalists to create a 40-foot mural for the new Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center in downtown Indianapolis.
Allen has worked on murals in places throughout Michiana, from South Bend to Benton Harbor, to Monticello, Indiana.
The community gets a say in the final design. A public survey is open through June 14 as organizers pick the final design.
The mural is expected to be painted in fall 2026, with the facility opening in spring 2027.
Stay up to date on local news with WNDU on-air and online. Be sure to download the 16 News Now App and follow our YouTube page as we continue to bring you the latest news coverage.
Copyright 2026 WNDU. All rights reserved.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana State Fair is hiring hundreds of seasonal workers for its 2026 run.
The fair returns August 7 through August 23. It’s closed on Mondays.
Officials are looking to fill about 800 positions. They include parking attendants, gate staff, security personnel and operations team members.
The fair is also hiring tractor shuttle operators, information booth assistants and education exhibit guides.
The 18th Annual Indiana State Fair Job Fair happens Thursday, June 4 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The event takes place inside the Agriculture/Horticulture Building at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center at 1202 E. 38th Street in Indianapolis.
Job seekers can complete applications and participate in on-site interviews. The fair says people who attend the job fair will receive priority consideration during hiring.
“Every great Fair experience starts with great people,” said Mark Anderson, Director of Human Resources at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center. “Our seasonal team helps create the energy, hospitality and memories that guests look forward to each summer.”
Anderson said the fair offers opportunities for people seeking their first job or extra income. It’s also good for those wanting to stay engaged with the community.
Applicants should bring a resume if they have one. They should also bring a positive attitude. Previous fair experience is not required.
People who can’t attend the job fair can apply in person starting June 8. The Employment Office is inside the Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion.
Walk-in applications are accepted Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More information about employment opportunities and the 2026 Indiana State Fair is available at www.IndianaStateFair.com.
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