Miami-Dade foreclosures continue falling in February: report

Now several years into the housing market’s recovery, a new report shows Miami-Dade County’s foreclosure rate has again fallen in February.

Of all Miami-Dade’s outstanding mortgages that month, only 2.92 percent were in some stage of foreclosure. That percentage has fallen consistently over the last 12 months, marking a 1.31 percentage point dip since February 2015.

Though the county’s housing market continues to show signs of recovery from the crash years ago, Miami-Dade’s foreclosure rate is still higher than the national average of 1.13 percent in February.

Mortgage delinquencies, when a borrower doesn’t pay their bill for more than 90 days, were also trending down. The county’s 90-day delinquency rate stood at 6.77 percent, down from 9.78 percent the year before. February 2015 was also the first month that Miami-Dade’s delinquency rate fell below 10 percent.

Despite industry talk of another market downturn on the horizon, analysts have said several factors could shield Miami-Dade from another onslaught of foreclosures. Mortgage lenders are becoming more scrupulous with their underwriting, and the market’s adopted 50 percent deposit structure for new condos help prevent buyers from walking away from their contracts. — Sean Stewart-Muniz