Florida leads with highest foreclosure rate

Foreclosure sign

In Florida, one in 425 homes has a foreclosure filing, according to a RealtyTrac report released Thursday.

The report reinforces a national and statewide trend: despite a year-over-year decrease in foreclosure filings, Florida had the highest foreclosure rate in April, nearly two and a half times the national average.

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Miami was among the top five cities with high incidences of foreclosures, with one in every 386 homes. RealtyTrac included default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions in its definition of foreclosure filings.

“We are in the final innings of this extra-inning distressed ball game,” Mike Pappas, CEO and president of the South Florida-based Keyes Company, said in a statement. “As this tide recedes the strong economic tide is pushing us to historic sales for our region.”

Nevada, Maryland and New Jersey followed Florida, according to the report. Nationwide, 125,875 foreclosure filings were reported in April, up 3 percent from March and 9 percent from a year ago. One in every 1,049 U.S. homes were in foreclosure in April. — Katherine Kallergis