It Aint Over Yet

April 18th, 2009 7:19 AM

Number 4 in Nation for Foreclosures

April 16th, 2009 6:58 PM

Florida ranked fourth in the nation in the number of homes going into foreclosure in the first quarter. Only Nevada, Arizona and California had more, according to RealtyTrac.

In fact, those four states, along with Illinois, which ranked fifth, accounted for nearly 60 percent of the nation’s foreclosure activity during the three-month period.

Nationwide, there were 803,489 properties that went into foreclosure in the first quarter, a 9 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 24 percent increase over the same quarter last year. One in every 159 housing units received a foreclosure notice during the first quarter, RealtyTrac said.

“On a positive note, it appears that demand is up in some of the harder-hit areas, particularly on bank-owned REO properties that first time homebuyers and investors see as bargains,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in a news release. “But, it’s unlikely that this increased demand will be enough to offset the growing number of foreclosures in the pipeline, accelerated by rising unemployment rates.”

Florida saw 119,220 foreclosure filings, a 36 percent increase from the first quarter of 2008, with one in every 73 housing units receiving a foreclosure notice. However, the state saw a 12.19 percent decrease in the number of foreclosures in the first quarter when compared with the fourth quarter of last year.

Indeed, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, several lenders – including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – have increased foreclosure activity in recent weeks.

Nevada continued to report the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in the first quarter, with one in every 27 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing – more than five times the national average.

Arizona posted the nation’s second-highest state foreclosure rate for the first quarter, with one in every 54 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, and California posted the nation’s third-highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every 58 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

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