Florida Will Soon See Improvement In Foreclosures
By Bobby Freeman, Florida Realtors® // July 13, 2013
602 foreclosed/bank owned properties for sale
ABOVE VIDEO: Along with giving you tips on how to buy foreclosure homes, this video explains the foreclosure process, the foreclosure laws and the benefits of buying a foreclosure to first-time homebuyers. Among these tips are pre-qualifying for a loan, hiring inspectors, running a title search and hiring a realtor.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – According to RealtyTrac’s Midyear 2013 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report foreclosure activity in the U.S. decreased 14 percent in June to its lowest level since December 2006, despite a 34 percent jump in judicial foreclosure auctions from a year ago.
The report finds 801,359 properties with foreclosure filings – which includes all default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – in the first half of 2013. It’s a 19 percent decrease from the previous six months and down 23 percent from the first half of 2012. One in 164 U.S. housing units had at least one foreclosure filing in the first six months of the year.
Currently in Brevard County there are 602 foreclosed/bank owned and 242 short sale properties for sale. Buyers can pick from a bank-owned home in Cocoa for $17,510 to a short sale home in Lansing Island listed for over a million dollars.
Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, says that foreclosures are “no longer a problem nationally,” but they continue to be a problem in states like Florida where the long court process has delayed the progression. However, even states like Florida will soon see an improvement.
“The increases in judicial foreclosure auctions demonstrate that these delayed foreclosure cases are now being moved more quickly through to foreclosure completion,” said Blomquist.
“Given the rising home prices in most of these markets, it is an opportune time for lenders to dispose of these distressed properties, either at the foreclosure auction to a third-party buyer, or by repossessing the property at the auction and subsequently selling it as a bank-owned home.
JUNE REPORT: FORECLOSURE STARTS LOWEST SINCE 2005
• 127,790 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings in June, down 14 percent from the previous month and 35 percent from a year ago. It’s the lowest monthly level since December 2006 – a six and a half year low.
In Florida, new foreclosure starts dropped 26 percent. Other states with a significant drop in starts include Nevada (down 84 percent), Colorado (62 percent), New Jersey (40 percent) and Illinois (39 percent).
• The number of new foreclosure starts in June dropped 21 percent from the previous month and 45 percent from a year earlier, hitting its lowest monthly level since December 2005 – a seven and a half year low.
• In Florida, new foreclosure starts dropped 26 percent. Other states with a significant drop in starts include Nevada (down 84 percent), Colorado (62 percent), New Jersey (40 percent) and Illinois (39 percent).
• June bank repossessions (REO) decreased 9 percent compared to May and 35 percent from one year earlier. Bank repossessions in June decreased from a year ago in 34 states.
2013 HALF YEAR FLORIDA REPORT
Florida posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in the first half of 2013: 1.74 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing (one in every 58) during the six-month period – nearly three times the national average.
A total of 155,264 Florida properties had a foreclosure filing in the first six months of the year, the most of any state and up 12 percent from a year ago.
In Florida, the foreclosure process – from first notice to REO status – took an average of 907 days in the first half of 2013, or roughly two-and-a-half years.
In the U.S., a foreclosure averaged 526 days, though two states have a longer foreclosure process than Florida. In both New York and New Jersey, the average foreclosure takes 1,033 days.
You can contact me at McCoy-Freeman RE/MAX Elite if you need more information about distressed property in Florida at 321-693-1694, or e-mail mccoyfreemangroup@gmail.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bobby Freeman, a life-time resident of Brevard County, has been a top Realtor in the area for two decades. In his first year as an agent, Freeman received a Rising Star award from his Brokers. Since then he has achieved numerous sales awards and has recently been presented with the prestigious RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award.
Freeman, Jennifer McCoy and Nikki McCoy Freeman are family partners for RE/MAX Elite’s McCoy-Freeman Group. Together they have more than 30 years of extensive experience in all aspects of the real estate industry and have sold over $180 million. Among McCoy-Freeman Group’s achievement are RE/MAX Hall of Fame, RE/MAX 100% Club, Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPE), Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) and voted Best Realtor in Brevard County. The group has been featured in many news publications including CNN Money Magazine, CNNMoney.com, WFTV 9 ABC News, Coastal Condo Living, & Hot Retirement Towns Magazine and SpaceCoastDaily.com.
For more information log on to BrevardRealtyConnection.
