Florida and South Florida returned to the top of the nation’s foreclosure rankings in May, but that probably isn’t as bad as it sounds, RealtyTrac Inc. says.
“These are inevitable foreclosures that need to happen for the market to be completely healthy,” said Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for the Irvine Calif.-based listing firm.
The Sunshine State posted the country’s highest foreclosure rate last month, with one in every 302 homes in some stage of repossession, according to RealtyTrac. That’s roughly three times the national average.
The South Florida region, which includes Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, had the highest foreclosure rate among metro areas at one in 209 homes.
Florida led the nation for six months in a row until being surpassed by Nevada earlier this spring. Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties had the highest foreclosure rate for February and March before dropping to third in April.
Many of the cases working their way through the court system now are delinquent mortgages from the housing bust that lenders finally are addressing, Blomquist said. The numbers are well below the 2009 peak.
In a news release, RealtyTrac said the housing rebound that started last year is allowing many areas to “quickly shake off a few more blows from these nagging foreclosures.”
Some market observers fear the rise in foreclosed homes could hurt home prices, but Blomquist isn’t worried.
“I don’t see it as a threat to the housing recovery in Florida because of the strong demand there,” he said.
An increase in bank-owned homes for sale would help balance the market, real estate agents say.
Investors and other buyers are struggling to find available properties, creating a frenzy that’s leading to bidding wars and sharp price increases. Economists say the limited supply of homes is causing an unsustainable jump in home values.
“Banks are just not releasing the inventory fast enough,” said David Dweck, founder of the Boca Real Estate Investment Club. “Right now it is super tight. Tight like I haven’t seen in seven years.”
Analysts say banks are holding back on listing properties for sale so as not to depress prices. But Anthony DiMarco, spokesman for the Florida Bankers Association, disputed that theory. He said it just takes time to process, market and sell foreclosures.
“I would imagine the banks are putting them out there as fast as they can,” DiMarco said.
RealtyTrac monitors public records for three types of foreclosure filings: new cases, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.
In many markets across Florida, foreclosures are moving to the auction stage, where a judge sets a date for the home to be sold to the highest bidder, Blomquist said.
By Paul Owers, Sun Sentinel
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