Florida Foreclosures Decline 17% in 3rd Quarter

Mughrabi attributed much of the pick-up in foreclosures to hedge funds and other investors who have bought distressed mortgages from the government with the intent of either flipping the homes for a profit or taking advantage of the booming rental market once the properties fall into foreclosure.

That represents a 30 percent drop from 2,012 in the third quarter of 2014. The percentage of loans in foreclosure that are tied to the years of the housing bubble is still high, meaning a shadow inventory of bad loans continues the linger over the state’s housing market.

The recent trend marks a stark reversal from the first half of the year, when foreclosure activity across the US fell 13 percent from the previous six months, according to RealtyTrac.

But the number of foreclosure filings across much of the nine-county Miami Valley region has begun to buck the statewide trend.

In Bergen County, one of every 293 households faced foreclosure activity during the quarter, up 22.6 percent from a year earlier.

Ohio ranked No. 8 among states with the highest rate of foreclosure filings in the third quarter.

Florida foreclosure activity in the third quarter of 2015 decreased 17% from a year ago, but the state still posted the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate: one in every 186 housing units with a foreclosure filing.

He says “deferred distress” in a few states like New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York is now increasing. Albuquerque, New Mexico (one in every 181) and Las Vegas, Nevada (one in every 187) take the final two top spots. Scheduled auctions dipped 10 percent, to 188, from 209 for the same period. Paul, Minnesota (up 11%), Atlanta, Georgia (up 5%), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (up 1%) and Washington D.C. (up 1%). “It’s really nothing more than housekeeping on the part of the banks and not a cause for concern”, said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market. That helps a market that doesn’t have enough houses for sale to meet demand.

Filings in the Greensboro-High Point MSA were down 5.4 percent to 348, compared with a year ago, and down 19.3 percent from August.

About 43,358 properties started the foreclosure process in September – the lowest level since November 2005, RealtyTrac reports.

RealtyTrac also included a breakdown of each state’s foreclosure information.

Monthly filings have been swinging wildly up and down so far this year, but September’s gain was the biggest.