While the national foreclosure rate rose by 16% year over year, 13 of the 25 markets that have traditionally seen the most foreclosures actually saw filings drop during the first quarter of this year.

The usual suspects still lead the nation with California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continuing to account for nearly all of the top 25 foreclosure rates in the first quarter. California claimed 10 of the top spots, and Florida had nine. The Sarasota real estate market, which came in 21st on the list, saw filings rise nearly 30% during the first three months of the year. That’s a rate of one foreclosure for every 61 housing units. However, other leading Southwest Florida markets saw filings drop. The Cape Coral real estate and Fort Myers real estate markets saw foreclosure actions fall 26% and 25% respectively and the Naples real estate market saw filings decrease by 11%. Considering the Cape Coral-Fort Myers (a rate of one foreclosure for every 35 housing units) and Naples areas have been in the top ten for what seems like forever, the drop in filings are seen as a welcome respite.

Unfortunately, there were 544,000 foreclosure filings in Florida last year and it is estimated that 25% of Floridians with a mortgage are either in foreclosure or late (60 days) on their payments. So, the question remains. Is the decrease just an aberration or the start of a turn around? As with everything in this market, only time will tell.

Southwest Florida Foreclosures

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Tags: foreclosures, markets, real estate