Report: Florida tops foreclosure activity despite national decrease

A map of foreclosure inventories in the United States by CoreLogic
A map of foreclosure inventories in the United States by CoreLogic

The number of foreclosures in Florida over the last year nearly doubled that of the next highest state, despite year-over-year declines, according to a CoreLogic report.

A total of 110,000 properties in Florida completed foreclosures in the 12-month period ending in March this year. The state also received a nod for having one of the largest inventories of foreclosed homes — 3.3 percent of all its mortgaged homes.

Nationwide, the inventory of homes in foreclosure has been steadily decreasing, now 25-percent smaller than March of 2014.

The current total of homes in foreclosure is 542,000, which represents roughly 1.4 percent of all mortgaged homes in the country.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The two states with the lowest inventories were Alaska and Nebraska at 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Florida was joined in the top bracket by New Jersey with 5.3 percent and New York with 3.9 percent.

“Many states in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as Florida, still have elevated levels of distressed housing, but they are making more rapid progress as of late,” said president and CEO of CoreLogic Anand Nallathambi in a statement. “In March, foreclosures in these areas accounted for a large proportion of completed foreclosures.”

Although foreclosure rates are still elevated in the trouble states, the report said the inventory of foreclosed homes is expected to continue falling. — Sean Stewart-Muniz