Florida in top 3 for foreclosure activity

On 28/07/2009 03:02:59

The Sunshine State still has not seen much relief in foreclosures in the first half of the year, according to the latest RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

Florida posted the second highest number of fillings and the third highest rate of foreclosures nationwide between January and June, the report said.

The state reported 268,064 properties received a foreclosure filing in the first half of this year, a 7 percent jump from the previous six months and a nearly 42 percent hike from the first half of 2008. Only California posted a higher number for the first half of the year, with 391,611 foreclosure filings.

Meanwhile, Florida reported 3 percent of its housing units, or one in every 33 households, got at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year. Nevada led the nation in that category with more than six percent of its homes, or one in every 16 households, receiving a foreclosure filing, while Arizona was second highest with 3.37 percent of its homes, or one in every 30 households, getting a foreclosure filing.

Nationwide, 1.9 million foreclosure filings were reported on 1.5 million United States properties in the first six months of 2009 — a 9 percent increase in total properties from the previous six months and a nearly 15 percent increase in total properties from the first six months of 2008.

The report also shows that 1.19 percent of all housing units in the nation, or one in 84 households, received a filing during the first half of 2009.

The increasing numbers come despite an industry-wide moratorium earlier this year, plus local, state and national legislative action and increased levels of loan modification activity, said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio in a prepared statement.

“Unemployment-related foreclosures account for much of this increased activity, and the high number of borrowers who find themselves owing more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth represent a potentially significant future risk,” Saccacio said in the statement.

RealtyTrac’s market report provides the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the first half of the year, including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.