Foreclosure activity declines in second quarter, according to Condo Vultures

Foreclosures are finally coming off their high, inching down 9 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2012, according to Miami-based consultancy Condo Vultures.

Some 11,500 notices of default were sent to homeowners in the tri-county region from April to June, a 9 percent decrease from the second quarter of 2012, Condo Vultures numbers show.

Broward County saw the most action with 5,100 notices of default, followed by 3,600 notices in Miami-Dade and 2,400 notices in Palm Beach.

More than 374,000 foreclosures have been initiated on South Florida homes since the real estate crash began in 2007, according to the consultancy’s foreclosure database.

Foreclosures had slowed in recent years following the “robo-signing” scandal, in which companies were found guilty of forging homeowners’ signatures on bank documents, but spiked again following a February 2012 agreement among states and the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders to provide about $25 billion in relief to borrowers. –Emily Schmall