RealtyTrac: Fla. still No. 1 in foreclosure rates

                                    

FREE List of Foreclosures in South Florida

 

IRVINE, Calif. – April 10, 2014 – According to RealtyTrac’s foreclosure report for March, Fla. has retained its No. 1 status for homes in some stage of foreclosure, with one in every 407 Florida homes with a mortgage affected.

And in a look at metro areas (populations of 200,000 or more), Florida cities hold eight of the top 10 spots.

March 2014

RealtyTrac’s report finds that 5,815 Florida homeowners received their first foreclosure notice in March; 9,983 were notified of a foreclosure sale; and 6,258 homes transferred to bank ownership (REOs). However, the total number of impacted homeowners in all stages fell 8.79 percent month-to-month when compared to Feb. 2014 and 21.92 percent year-to-year.

First quarter 2014

Looking at January through March, Florida foreclosure activity in first quarter 2014 decreased less than 1 percent quarter-to-quarter, but it declined 19 percent year-to-year. Still, Florida retained its top spot even though its foreclosure activity has decreased annually for three consecutive quarters.

First quarter 2014 metro areas

Port St. Lucie, Fla. – where one out of every 99 housing units had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter – led the nation’s cities, though seven other Florida cities also made the top 10.
 
Miami came in at No. 2 (one in every 106 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville at No. 3 (one in every 112); Orlando at No. 4 (one in every 120); Tampa at No. 5 (one in every 122); Lakeland at No. 6 (one in every 127); Ocala at No. 7 (one in every 130); and Jacksonville at No. 8 (one in every 134).

Nationwide, 29 states posted annual increases in scheduled foreclosure auctions. While Florida’s scheduled auctions rose 21 percent, it ranked tenth for auction sales behind Utah (up 226 percent), Oregon (up 177 percent), Connecticut (up 131 percent), New Jersey (up 79 percent), Delaware (up 49 percent), New York (up 47 percent), Maryland (up 46 percent), Massachusetts (up 37 percent) and Nevada (up 21 percent).

Other findings

• Foreclosed homeowners still live in 51 percent of REOs nationwide out of homes with occupancy data. However, no Florida cities ranked in the top five for owner-occupied REOs.
• It takes 935 days to foreclose on a Florida home as of the first quarter, but it takes longer in two other states: New Jersey (1,103 days to foreclose) and New York (986 days). Hawaii (840 days) and Illinois (830 days) round out the top five.

RealtyTrac posts an interactive Florida map that compares foreclosure rates color-coded by county. Scroll across a county to see its foreclosure statistics. 
© 2014 Florida Realtors®

U.S. home prices rose in Feb. despite weaker sales

                                                         

WASHINGTON (AP) – April 1, 2014 – U.S. home prices rose in February from a year earlier at a solid pace, suggesting that a tight supply of available homes is boosting prices despite slowing sales.

Real estate data provider CoreLogic said Tuesday that prices for existing homes rose 12.2 percent in February from a year ago. That was up slightly from January’s year-over-year pace of 12 percent.

On a month-to-month basis, prices in February rose 0.8 percent from January. But CoreLogic’s month-to-month prices aren’t adjusted for seasonal patterns, such as winter weather, which can depress sales.

Snowstorms, rising prices and higher mortgage rates combined to reduce home sales in February to their lowest level in 19 months.

A tight supply is helping boost prices even as sales slow. Sales fell 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.6 million in February from January, the National Association of Realtors said earlier this month. That sales pace would exhaust the number of available homes in 5.2 months, the Realtors’ said – below the six-month supply typically available in healthy markets.

The states with the biggest price gains in the past year were: California, where prices rose 19.8 percent, followed by Nevada, 18.5 percent, and Georgia, 14.2 percent. No states posted a drop in home prices.

Prices in four states reached a record high in February: Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota and Texas. An additional 22 states are within 10 percent of their previous peaks, CoreLogic says.

Nationwide, average home prices remain 16.9 percent below the peak reached in April 2006, at the height of the housing bubble.

Home sales and construction faltered over the winter, partly because harsh weather discouraged some Americans from venturing out to house-hunt. In addition, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is about a percentage point more than it was last spring. That means buying costs are up.

Most economists think the housing recovery could pick up once the spring buying season begins, though likely at a slower pace than last year.

But some recent reports haven’t been encouraging. A measure of signed contracts fell for the eighth straight month in February. That suggests sales will remain slow in coming months. Signed contracts usually lead to a finished sale in one to two months.

And home construction fell for a third straight month in February. But there was one hopeful sign: Developers applied for the most building permits in four months.
 Copyright © 2014 The Associated Press, Christopher S. Rugaber, AP economics writer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 

Realtors in Fla. expect prices to rise more than 5%

WASHINGTON – March 24, 2014 – According to the just-released National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) Realtors Confidence Index, members expect home prices to continue to rise over the next 12 months, but they expect them to do so at a moderate pace given tight credit conditions and lower home affordability.

The Realtors Confidence Index is a monthly survey distributed to more than 50,000 real estate practitioners. It gauges their expectations about home sales, prices and market conditions. Overall, Realtors expect a median price increase of 3.9 percent over the next 12 months.

Florida is one of four states where practitioners predict the biggest increases – 5 to 7 percent – along with California, Alaska and Hawaii. Tight inventories have helped to lift home values in these areas, according to the survey.

“In states with booming economies like Washington, North Dakota, Texas, Michigan, and the D.C.-metro area, the expected price increase is about 3 to 5 percent,” according to the report.

Real estate professionals also expressed several concerns over the housing market holding back some buyers, particularly due to “unreasonably” tight credit conditions.

“Access to credit was often cited as a deterrent to home buying,” the report says. “About 13 percent of Realtors who did not close a sale in February reported having clients who could not obtain financing.” In those cases, about 6 percent of the professionals said their buyer gave up, while 7 percent said their buyer continued to seek new or other financing.

Other transaction hang-ups were lack of agreement on a price (11 percent); buyer losing a home to competition (10 percent); and appraisal issues (3 percent).

The complete survey is available online.

Source: Realtor Magazine Daily News

© 2014 Florida Realtors®

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