South Florida dodges 100,000 foreclosures for year

The foreclosure crisis in South Florida has shown few signs of abating, and the region only just missed the dubious milestone of 100,000 foreclosures over the past year, which may be only of psychological significance. About 97,000 foreclosure filings were initiated in 2009 in the tri-county South Florida region, a 29 percent hike from the 76,000 actions initiated in 2008, according to data from Bal Harbour-based Condo Vultures. Peter Zalewski, the consultancy’s founder, said that by the end of the second quarter of 2009, South Florida was on pace for more than 100,000 foreclosure actions. Tax breaks, mortgage modification assistance and some flickers of economic improvement allowed momentum to slow just enough in the third and fourth quarters, allowing the region to fall just short of the mark. In 2007, just 32,000 foreclosures were filed in the tri-county area. [Condo Vultures] and [Palm Beach Post]