Florida foreclosures fall again, but signs point toward uptick

Foreclosures in Florida continued to fall last month compared to the same period in 2010, but a big jump month-over-month hints that an anticipated uptick could be on the way.

Properties in Florida with foreclosure filings fell by 41 percent in October, continuing a decline due largely to the foreclosure freeze brought on by the robo-signing scandal in the fall of 2010, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac.

Compared to September 2011, however, there was a 37 percent increase in foreclosures.

“The October foreclosure numbers continue to show strong signs that foreclosure activity is coming out of the rain delay we’ve been in for the past year, as lenders corrected foreclosure paperwork and processing problems,” said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio in a statement.

The 41 percent drop compared to Oct. 2010, while still steep, was smaller than previous months, which had seen drops closer to 60 percent.

One out of every 268 housing units in Florida is in foreclosure, and there were a total of 33,073 properties with foreclosure filings in the state last month.

Nationally, foreclosures fell 30.5 percent compared to October 2010, with a 7.3 percent jump from September 2011. — Alexander Britell