Deserted homes blight Florida’s improving market

Tens of thousands of Florida homeowners have abandoned properties threatened by foreclosure, a dark spot in the Sunshine State’s otherwise brightening real estate market, the Palm Beach Post reported.

About 55,000 Florida homes with defaulted mortgages are deserted, nearly one third of the national total and more than triple second-place Illinois, which has 17,642 vacant foreclosed homes, the Post said.

With a count of 13,901, South Florida is second among metropolitan areas nationwide for deserted, foreclosed homes behind Chicago, according to a recent report by Irvine, Calif-based RealtyTrac.

RealtyTrac measured 167,680 abandoned foreclosures nationwide.

The average foreclosure in Florida, which regained the ignominious position as the state with the highest foreclosures in May, took about 893 days to process, according to RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist, who said the state’s efforts to prevent unwarranted foreclosures has slowed down the process for all foreclosures, including in cases where the owners have vacated the properties and are not contending repossession. [Palm Beach Post] –Emily Schmall