Florida a foreclosure leader

Florida has the second-highest rate of foreclosure in the nation, second only to California, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Florida’s foreclosure rate stood at 4.61 percent of about 3.5 million loans examined, or roughly 163,000 homes. This compares to 1.03 percent of 3.42 million loans in the same period a year ago, or roughly 35,200 homes. The report also said 11.6 percent of Florida property owners were more than 30 days past due on a mortgage payment or in foreclosure. The Miami-Dade County Clerk’s office recorded 11,768 lis pendens filings in the first quarter of the year, which is nearly half the number filed in all of 2007.