According to an industry report released Friday, with more than 78,000 new homes in jeopardy of being repossessed by lenders, the number of Florida home loans entering foreclosure continued to rise at a quick rate in the second quarter.
The Mortgage Bankers Association survey, which tracks only first mortgages, painted a dark cloud over Florida's housing market after a more than half-decade of overbuilding and heavy speculation.
As of June 30th, the percentage of Florida homes in foreclosure was higher than any other state in the nation, standing at 6 % nearly double the national average. Coming in second was Nevada at 4.92 %.
In all, more than 213,000 Florida properties were stuck foreclosure, the lengthy legal process in which a lender takes back title to a home for nonpayment of debt.
There were 273,000 homeowners that were a month or more behind on their mortgage payments, signaling a rough road ahead.
Driving up the national percentage of loans in foreclosure to 2.75% were the two worst hit states, Florida and California, the highest rate in the survey's 39-year history. Only eight states topped the national rate.
The delinquencies in Florida and California account for roughly three-fourths of the increase in foreclosures nationally between the first and second quarters of the year, said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the MBA.
There is an indication that subprime Florida foreclosures may have hit their peak. For the first time, the delinquency rate among borrowers with less than perfect credit in adjustable-rate loans dipped slightly between quarters from 19.71 to 19.31. However, about 29% of the state's subprime adjustable-rate loans were in foreclosure, representing about 92,000 properties.
Contributed by MLR Realty
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