The Current State of Foreclosures in South Florida 2014

According to statistics, Florida is among the top 10 states in the country with the highest foreclosure rates. Although there has been a decline in foreclosures in the state, the issue continues to be a major concern among homeowners in Florida. In a survey conducted by a realty listing firm during the first quarter of 2013, Florida was reported to have the most number of foreclosures in the US. For instance, 1 in 58 houses in the state faced foreclosure during the first 6 months in 2013. On the other hand, 3 counties in the state had the highest percentage of foreclosures such as Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. As for the southern portion of the state, 1 in 43 residential properties are nearing foreclosure.

Decline in Foreclosures

While the foreclosure rate in Florida was at its highest in the first half of 2013, this was 23 percent lower from the 2012 statistics. In South Florida, about 17 percent of new cases dropped their filings. In addition, there is an evident decrease in foreclosure activity in the state each year. Based on studies, the foreclosure activity in Miami-Dade County dropped by 19.88 percent from 2012 ad about 14.13 percent from July 2013. In Broward County, however, there is a 12.23 percent decrease from 2012 and a drop by about 27.28 percent from July.

However, while these counties are experiencing a decline in foreclosure activity, other areas in Florida remain to have high foreclosure rates with Miami at the top of the list and followed closely by Tampa. It is also worth noting that the latter part of the foreclosure process is reaching its highest rates in Florida. Scheduled auctions increase by 39 percent while bank repossessions went up to 48 percent from 2012.

Overall, there were 23,372 properties in Florida have been notified with foreclosure filings, which is still quite higher than in other states. Scheduled auctions, bank repossessions and new case filings are among the different types of foreclosure activities in the US, and these are pressing issues among homeowners in the state.

By August 2013, Florida’s decrease in foreclosure activity has brought the state to the second spot in the top 10 ranks of foreclosures in the US, with Nevada being in the first place. Experts have also discovered that a massive percentage of Florida’s foreclosures is made up of older cases that pass though the court’s stages of repossessing homes. Hence, these loans are due to the housing bubble instead of being an existing concerns during the last few years.

Continuing Problems with Florida’s Foreclosure Activity

As of 2012, there were about 270,000 homes in Florida with foreclosure filings, and 8 of the cities with the leading foreclosure rates were in this state. Miami is among the cities with massive foreclosure activities, and the rate increased by 44 percent, as compared to the records in 2011. Several other cities in Florida have high foreclosure rates such as Orlando and Jacksonville.

At present, a number of Florida homeowners forced to sell still find themselves worried about the foreclosure issue in the state although the crisis is slowly being resolved. To speed up the foreclosure process and solve the issue on backlog of files, judges in several Florida counties are requesting all foreclosure cases to be prepared for trial.