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Foreclosures Keep Grip On Area
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Published: February 27, 2008
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TAMPA - There's no doubt that many homeowners are finding it more difficult to pay their mortgages, and the latest national numbers show that Florida and the Tampa Bay area continue to be worse off than most other parts of the nation.
January was the third straight month that Florida's foreclosure rate was third-highest in the nation, according to California-based research company RealtyTrac. Hernando County ranked fifth in the state for its rate of foreclosure filings - highest among all Bay area counties - and the Bay area's January foreclosure rate was 39th worst out of 229 metro areas nationwide.
Nationally, the number of homes facing foreclosure nationwide jumped 57 percent, RealtyTrac said, and some local real estate professionals say the numbers don't even show the full extent of the problem.
"So many people are working out short sale deals with lenders, and many of those aren't counted as foreclosure filings," said David Carter, a local real estate lawyer.
The short sale is a method that helps homeowners and lenders avoid foreclosure, as the lender agrees to allow the owner to sell the home for less than it is worth. The homeowner avoids foreclosure, and the lender avoids the expense of the foreclosure process and avoids the hassle of having to sell the home.
If the lender agrees to the short sale before the formal foreclosure process begins, that home never shows up in public records as a foreclosure property.
Carter said so many homeowners are seeking short sales that the Florida Association of Realtors is providing forms to real estate agents to help them market a home as a short sale.
Of Hernando County's fifth-place ranking, Carter said: "The frenzy for investing in properties was much worse here than in other counties."
RealtyTrac follows default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Lenders typically consider borrowers delinquent after they fall three months behind on mortgage payments.
Florida had 30,178 homes on the foreclosure track in January, up about 158 percent from a year earlier and down 3 percent versus December, RealtyTrac said.
Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco and Pinellas all had fewer filings than in December, but each county had more than 100 percent more filings than it did the same month a year ago.
Of the four counties, there were 4,210 foreclosure filings in January.
Nationwide, about 233,001 homes received at least one notice from lenders last month related to overdue payments, compared with 148,425 a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac.
The worsening situation came despite ongoing efforts by lenders to help borrowers manage their payments by modifying loan terms, working out long-term repayment plans and other actions.
"You have more people going into default and a higher percentage of the properties going back to the banks," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida posted the highest foreclosure rate of any metro area in the nation, with one of every 86 homes in some stage of foreclosure, said RealtyTrac Inc.
Stockton, Calif., was ranked second, with one of every 97 homes involved in a foreclosure filing, and the Riverside-San Bernardino metro area in Southern California had the third-highest foreclosure rate with filings for one of every 101 properties.
Attempts to help struggling home owners have fallen short.
"The loan workout modification programs aren't having a significant material effect on keeping properties from going back to the banks," Sharga said.
Among states, Nevada led the nation, with 6,087 properties receiving at least one filing, up 95 percent from a year earlier but down 45 percent from December, the firm said.
That translates to a rate of about one foreclosure for every 167 households.
Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates were California, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Georgia, Connecticut, Ohio and Michigan.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.
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