Florida Leads The Country in Foreclosures

The Sun Sentinel reports in a recent article – Florida leads the nation in foreclosures:

One out of four Florida home mortgages is in foreclosure or delinquent.The third quarter report from the Mortgage Bankers Association
brings almost too much precision to the picture of the foreclosure
crisis.

Nationwide, more than 4 million home mortgage borrowers are behind on their payments.

In Florida, we have 441,440 home loans in foreclosure and 422,036 that are delinquent.

The Florida foreclosure rate is the highest in the nation. And the
combination of the foreclosure and delinquency rate is also the highest.

A total of 12.18 percent of home mortgages in Florida are delinquent and 12.74 are in foreclosure.

Daytona Beach Homes in Foreclosure

In October, foreclosures in Volusia County were up 3% while the rest of the nation saw a small month to month decline. We did see a 4% decline for the state from last October. 1500 Volusia County homes are in foreclosure, but many more are in the foreclosure process.

This rate of foreclosures will continue to keep inventories high making for real pricing opportunities for buyers. Prices as reported as an average are nearly useless in this market. It takes work and patience to find the right property at the right price and buyers who are willing to go through the process can get tremendous bargains.

Sellers who are not in financial distress with a property must decide whether to hold the property or sell and cut their losses. That’s a personal decision based upon individual financial situations. However, keep in mind that you are competing against short sales and foreclosures and must price aggressively to sell in this market.

This situation will not be going away for a few years. See my article from a few days ago – Foreclosure and Delinquency Rates Rise for why. If your a buyer, the best approach you can make is to decide what you’re looking for and your timing because even though there are plenty of properties on the market, the prime properties are competitive. For instance, oceanfront condos in Daytona Beach Shores that are competitively priced have gone under contract almost immediately after listing. They are super-desirable and require buyers who know what they want and are ready to pull the trigger when the property comes on the market.

Give me a call at 386-566-7503 to discuss your options  or just to ask questions about the market.