Foreclosure activity in Florida increased by 7% in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the previous quarter, and by 17% compared with the same quarter of the year before, making Florida the reigning top state for foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac.
Since last year’s legal settlement between 49 state attorneys general and five leading banks, lenders now have clearer guidelines regarding the foreclosure process, which has paved the way for the release of a backlog of properties that were once caught up in the complicated and time consuming procedure; the latest figures are said to be a reflection of this.
The Miami area in particular came under the spotlight, as the report revealed it to be the leading foreclosure city across the nation in the first quarter of 2013. Figures show that one in every 79 residences in Miami have been involved in some form of foreclosure filing, which is more than three times the national average, says RealtyTrac.
Miami is not alone by a long shot, however, with six additional Florida metro areas also having placed in the top ten for foreclosure activity in the first quarter of this year; Orlando took second position, Ocala was third, Tampa was in fifth place, Jacksonville was seventh, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville placed eighth and, finally, Lakeland took tenth position.
Despite concerns that a sudden surge of foreclosures onto the market would prove detrimental to the housing recovery, thus far the increasing demand for property teamed with the shortage of homes and condominiums for sale means that distressed properties have not been sitting on the market long before being snapped up by keen investors or first time buyers.
Doug DeWitt, a broker at Concierge Real Estate Services in Miami Beach, said: “It’s flying off the shelves. If there is shadow inventory, it’s not bogging down the system.’’
