Florida’s foreclosure rate still nation’s highest

Florida, home to the most spots of any state in Coed Magazine’s recent list of “15 Trashiest Spring Break Destinations,” can claim another dubious prize: nation’s highest foreclosure rate, the Sun Sentinel reported. The Sunshine State nabbed the top spot for the sixth consecutive month, per a report from foreclosure data service RealtyTrac, the paper said.

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The South Florida region, which includes Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, also had the highest foreclosure rate among U.S. metro areas. In Palm Beach County, foreclosure filings rose 58 percent year-over-year in February.

“Florida is still playing catch-up with delayed foreclosures,” Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac, told the Sentinel. In recent years, banks had delayed foreclosure proceedings due to the so-called “robo-signing” scandal and the anticipated settlement between mortgage servicers and the states. In February, a $26 billion settlement between numerous state attorneys general and the country’s five largest mortgage servicers was reached, and a spate of foreclosures, in Florida and elsewhere, has followed. [Sun Sentinel] –Guelda Voien