None of Florida's metro areas made it into the country's Top 20 list for foreclosure activity in February, according to a new report by RealtyTrac Inc.
"For the second month in a row, no Florida cities posted foreclosure rates in the top 20 among U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more," stated the report by the California-based real-estate research firm. "That was in contrast to 2010, when the state accounted for nine of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates."
Some of the metro areas filling the spots vacated by Florida cities include: Racine, Wis.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Atlanta; and Detroit.
Long positioned in the top three or four states in the country for foreclosures, Florida was in eighth place during February. Nevada, Arizona and California continued to dominate in terms of the number of foreclosure documents filed in their court systems last month, but the Sunshine State also trailed Utah, Idaho, Georgia and Michigan.
RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist said the slowdown in Florida is primarily the result of fallout from recent foreclosure-processing controversies, which led to servicers scrutinizing and resubmitting paperwork and hiring new foreclosure lawyers. Judges in the state have also taken a more careful approach to reviewing foreclosure cases.
"All these extra hurdles have drastically slowed down the capacity of lenders and the courts to work through the inventory of distressed properties," Blomquist said.
Florida's foreclosure activity last month was down 13 percent from January and 65 percent from February 2010, with filings on 18,760 properties. The state hit a 46-month low in February, and the total was down 71 percent from the April 2009 peak of 64,588.
After being in the Top 10 several times last year, Orlando's four-county metropolitan area ranked 58th in the country for foreclosure filings in February, with one filing for every 458 homes. The 1,980 foreclosure filings in the metro area were down 14 percent from January and 71 percent from a year ago.
"We have seen a decline in foreclosure inventory in the last few months," Orlando area real estate broker Andrey Bustamante said. "Meanwhile, you still have very many interested buyers."
Some areas seem to be rebounding faster than others, Bustamante said; areas choked with traffic due to limited highway access and a lack of public transportation seem to be the slowest to recover. He noted that the Poinciana area, which straddles Osceola and Polk counties, is particularly challenged.
By Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel
March 10, 2011
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