By Josh Salman | Herald-Tribune
“New home defaults throughout Southwest Florida have returned to the pace experienced before the market’s crash.
Although the local court system continue to grapple with a backlog of 11,880 old foreclosure cases, the flow of loans becoming delinquent has slowed to a point that recalls 2006 — the height of last decade’s housing boom in the region.
The trend has been consistent across Florida, as fewer homeowners have lost jobs, home prices have risen and lenders have become more willing to modify debt for those still struggling.
The waning initial foreclosure filings are expected to help bring more stability to a housing market already flirting with its best totals in nearly six years.
But with a number of borrowers still late on payments or with loans larger than the value of their homes, some experts warn the housing market is less than healthy.
“Without a doubt, foreclosures have really fallen,” said Jack McCabe, a Florida real estate consultant. “We have seen rapid price appreciation this year, and a new law to speed up the process. All of those factors combined, the pipeline has really shrunk for new foreclosures.
“That’s great news for Florida, after this cloud has been hanging over our heads the past six years.”
From the start of September through the end of November, lenders filed 583 new defaults between Sarasota and Manatee counties. That was down 60 percent from foreclosure starts during the same time one year ago and down two-thirds from those same three months in 2011, according to data from industry researcher RealtyTrac Inc.”