8.1 Percent Increase in House Repossession in Florida Area
First American CoreLogic released its market data showing an 8.1 percent increase in house repossession rates in Orlando-Kissimmee area in Florida in March of this year. Last March’s foreclosure rates were more than twice compared to the same month figures the previous year.
The foreclosure rate among Orlando-Kissimmee’s outstanding mortgage loans was higher compared to the national house repossession rate of 2.1 percent in March of this year.
Meanwhile, an estimated 15.8 percent of loans in the area were behind in mortgage payments 3 months or more last March, more than double the rate of 6.7 percent for the period the previous year.
The Orlando-Kissimmee area registered 61,833 filings of foreclosures between April of last year to March of the current year. Public records of filings of foreclosures include notices of default, foreclosure and bank repossession.
On the other hand, home sales in Orlando-Kissimmee area jumped by 42 percent. About 50 percent of these home sales were distressed properties or bank-owned. According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, home sales in the area continue to take a plunge.
Statewide, the total number of properties that received filings of foreclosures reached 119,220 in the first three months of this year. The figures represented a 12 percent decline from the last quarter of 2008. However, the figures were still 36 percent higher compared with those reported in the first quarter the previous year.
According to the RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, one out of 73 homeowners in Florida received filings of foreclosures in the first quarter of 2009. This made Florida the fourth state in the country with the highest foreclosure rate.
The March foreclosure filing rates were reported on 47,131 houses, a 2 percent jump from February and 56 percent from the 2008 March total.
RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James J. Saccacio cited the over 400,000 number of jobs lost since last year, the drastic decline in house prices and a large inventory of unsold homes as key factors driving the foreclosure crisis in the state.
Five counties in Florida accounted for 47 percent of the overall foreclosure activity in the area in the first quarter of 2009. Lee County has the highest house repossession filings with 13,875, 12,793 filings in Broward County, 12,420 in Miami-Dade County, 9,667 in Orange County and 7,555 house repossession filings in Hillsborough County.
