The number of foreclosed properties, including those under lists of federal homes, increased in Florida during the October-December quarter of 2010. The foreclosure rate of the state jumped higher and inventory of distressed houses rose, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Foreclosure listings in Jacksonville and in the rest of the state grew in the fourth quarter, bringing the foreclosure rate to over 14% and making Florida the state with the highest rate of foreclosure for the period. According to the association report, Florida accounts for almost one household for every four houses in distress in the whole U.S. during the quarter.
Aside from the high number of homes under foreclosure list in Florida, there were also 5.2% of mortgages that were at least three months behind in payments in the state in the fourth quarter. This is on top of the over 14% of mortgages already in the foreclosure process. The figures mean that over 20% of all outstanding mortgages in Florida are either delinquent or are already in foreclosure. The percentage is the highest in the whole country for the 2010 last quarter.
The foreclosure inventory of the state for the fourth quarter, including foreclosed lists of federal homes, posted a 0.5% increase compared with the third quarter of the same year. However, some positive news appeared in the report, particularly in the foreclosure starts category. The number of properties entering foreclosure for the first time went down last quarter, along with the number of mortgage loans that can be categorized as seriously delinquent.
The number of mortgage loans considered as seriously delinquent dropped by 0.7% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three-month period. According to analysts, the increase in distressed housing inventory can be attributed to the robo-signing controversy that held back sales of homes under foreclosed properties listings.
Analysts also reported that the controversy has caused delays in processing foreclosures, holding them back from entering the system and getting listed at lists of federal homes and other distressed property listings. In Miami-Dade, processing now takes 742 days, while in Broward County, the average is 689 days. The figures are almost double the average length of time it took to process a foreclosure three years ago.
John Cutts has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosure market over 5 years.
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