New foreclosures dropped dramatically across South Florida last month. Though the number of repossessed homes by banks has increased as the courts are clearing up the dockets. According to RealtyTrac, there has been a 53 percent decline since November of 2014 in foreclosures in South Florida. In November there were just 831 foreclosure lawsuits in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties. Since RealtyTrac began counting in January 2006, this has been the fewest number of new foreclosure filings for the tri-county region.
The collapse of the housing bubble began in 2006. Many buyers who paid too much for the properties lost their jobs and weren’t able to refinance those taxing mortgages. However, in 2012 prices eventually bottomed out and the housing climate has steadily improved since then. A vast amount of the homes that went into foreclosure during a burst of the housing bubble have clogged the system for years. However, the courts are handling the situation better by getting rid of the backlogs. The tri-county region had an increase of 45 percent from last year in repossessions last month, by repossessing 1,845 properties.
“Bubble loans” or loans taken out between 2004 and 2008 are the majority of the loans that are in the foreclosure backlog right now. In the past couple of years, the Sunshine State has been at the top of the list of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates. But, Florida has seen a 36 percent decline in new foreclosure lawsuits in the last month. Florida still has the third-highest foreclosure rate in November with one in every 662 units in foreclosure. Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties were ranked 12th nationwide; at one in every 645 homes at some stage of foreclosure.
If you have questions about Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Bankruptcy, Short Sale, or other alternatives, please feel free to call my office at 888-886-0020. Or, send an e-mail to emil@fleysherlaw.com, or complete the contact form below.
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