South Florida is no longer the national leader in foreclosures, the Sun-Sentinel reported, citing April figures from RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based listings monitor.
After holding the ignominious title for two consecutive months, the tri-county metro area slipped to third last month, behind Akron, Ohio and Ocala, Florida. One in every 269 homes in South Florida was in foreclosure, with one in every 211 homes in foreclosure in the Akron area, in April, according to RealtyTrac.
South Florida had 9,127 total filings in April, up slightly from a year earlier, but new cases declined by 35 percent, Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac, told the Sentinel.
“It appears that lenders have caught up with these delayed foreclosures,” he said. “Banks are pushing through the backlog, so we’re getting closer to seeing a resolution with these distressed homes.”
While statewide, Florida last month had the nation’s second-highest foreclosure rate after Nevada, filings are down sharply since the 2009 peak, Blomquist said.
Florida had the top foreclosure rate for six months in a row until relinquishing the top spot to Nevada in March. [Sun-Sentinel] –Emily Schmall