Florida Foreclosures Slow - For Now
MIAMI (CBS4) - A new report on foreclosures in the state may have you thinking we've turned the corner on our troubled real estate market, but 'all that glitters is not gold'.
According to the online tracker of foreclosed properties, RealtyTrac.com, Florida foreclosures have slowed to their lowest levels in about four years. But a hard look at the numbers show the latest figures don't tell the whole story and the number of foreclosures could very well increase in the coming months.
Last month, 18,760 homes and condos in Florida were in some stage of the foreclosure process, the second highest amount in the country. But looking at the big picture that number is down 65 percent from last year, and 71 percent from 2009.
RealtyTrac officials said the number of foreclosures across the country are slowing because of charges that some of the biggest banks and processors used faulty paperwork in their proceedings. In Florida, the foreclosure rate has slowed enough to knock the state out of the Top 5 Worst in the country for families to lose their homes.
Once the formal investigations into the way banks and processors handle the foreclosure paperwork end, most real estate forecasters predict a second wave of mass foreclosures – and it could be a big one.
