There appears to be some firm traction undergirding sustained improvements in the realm of foreclosures nationally, although the evidence supporting that is tempered by outsized variances in foreclosures regionally and in certain states.
Florida, unfortunately, continues to be one of those states, with statistics recently released by foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac showing the state-related numbers greatly lagging the gains being noted presently in many other areas of the country.
Readers might glean a bit of relevant background by perusing our recent October 12 blog entry, in which we noted the national trend and Realtytrac’s stated “sharp divergence along state lines.”
That latter phenomenon seems, if anything, even more pronounced now, just a few weeks following highly promising reports concerning a discernible dip in foreclosure filings and mortgage defaults.
Indeed, a regional dichotomy is manifestly apparent. On the one hand, for example, foreclosures in the third quarter of this year as compared with the immediately preceding quarter fell by a whopping 26 percent or more in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and San Diego. On the other hand, though, foreclosure numbers relating to a handful of Florida municipalities reflect a sharply different reality.
In Miami, for example, which has the 10th highest foreclosure rate in the nation, filings were up 11 percent. In Orlando, the uptick was 15 percent.
And for other Florida cities, filing rates were even more dismal. In Jacksonville, for instance, they jumped 32 percent. In Tampa, the rise was flatly dramatic, even stunning, with foreclosures rising by 43 percent in the past quarter.
The adage, “All boats rise with the tide,” is a truism just as likely to harbor truth in regard to foreclosure activity as it does in most other contexts. As things continue to improve in the nation’s housing market, though, it remains painfully clear that rising fortunes are variable and not uniformly tailored throughout all areas.
As we noted in a prior blog post, many Floridian homeowners who remain under pressure will want to see stronger and more prolonged evidence of improvement in their neighborhoods.
Source: CNN Money, “Foreclosures fall in 62% of U.S. cities,” Les Christie, Oct. 25, 2012
- Please visit our Florida Foreclosure Laws page for information on our firm and its diligent representation of Florida homeowners who need advice and a strong legal advocate.
Tags: foreclosures, mortgage defaults
