Foreclosure rates grow in Florida

I almost did not put this article in todays blog. I want to try and keep this blog as up-beat as possible, but I feel that both good and bad need to be reported.

One good thing about this article, that if you are in the home purchasing scene right now, then you do have several homes to choose from in Florida. Florida does offer a good investment in home buying.

Foreclosure rates in Lakeland, Sarasota, Tampa continue to grow
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Michael Hinman Staff Writer

Tampa Business Journal

Ten of the nation’s top 25 metropolitan areas ranked by foreclosure rates in the first half of this year are in Florida. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Lakeland are among the 10.
While Las Vegas-Paradise has the highest rate in the nation with one in every 13 homes facing foreclosure, Florida and California dominate the top 25. Cape Coral-Fort Myers is tops in Florida and finished second in the nation with one in every 14 homes in foreclosure.

The Orlando-Kissimmee area is second in the state with one in every 23 homes in foreclosure and just made the top 10 in the nation. It’s followed by Port St. Lucie at No. 11, Naples-Marco Island at No. 12, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 14 and Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach at No. 19.

In the Tampa Bay area, Lakeland had the highest foreclosure rate with one in every 37 homes facing foreclosure, representing 7,407 properties and placing Lakeland No. 21 in the nation. Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice was right behind with one in every 38 homes facing foreclosure, good for No. 22 in the nation.

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater finished No. 23 in the nation with one in every 39 homes facing foreclosure, representing 33,906 properties.

Every Florida metro area had higher foreclosure rates than the first six months of 2008, climbing as high as nearly 92 percent in Gainesville — which finished No. 68 nationally — but as low as 18 percent by Sarasota-Bradenton.

New areas around the country are growing in foreclosure rates, especially as unemployment rates rise in specific areas, James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a release. That might explain why Texas, which has an unemployment rate well below the national average, doesn’t show up on the foreclosure list until Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at No. 96 — that despite being one of the country’s most populous states.

Tallahassee had the state’s best foreclosure rate with one in every 114 homes in some form of foreclosure, ranking No. 84 overall.