Drew Harwell | Tampa Bay Times |
“Florida is seeing fewer foreclosure filings, but so is everyone else, keeping the Sunshine State on top of the national heap for foreclosure rates, new data from research firm RealtyTrac show.
About 70,000 statewide housing units saw a foreclosure filing in July, August and September, down 7 percent for the previous quarter but still twice the national average.
Tampa Bay held the seventh-highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 120 housing units seeing a notice of default, repossession, auction or other filing.
Eight of the 10 highest foreclosure rates were in Florida, including Port St.Lucie, Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando. The average Florida foreclosure lasts 929 days.
Foreclosure filings slowed dramatically in July, when a new state law requiring stricter loan documentation took effect, state court data show.
But lenders appear to be ramping back up. Banks filed for 1,000 Tampa Bay foreclosures in August, twice as many in July but still about half their average since 2011.”