Miami sees jump in foreclosure activity: report

A graph of national foreclosure rates
A graph of national foreclosure rates

Despite a continued trend of national decreases, Miami saw a jump in foreclosure activity during May, according to a RealtyTrac report.

Miami saw an annual increase of 17 percent in foreclosure activity, marking the 10th greatest jump in the United States. One in every 347 homes in the city is in foreclosure, slightly lower than Florida’s rate of one in every 409 homes.

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac

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The report attributed May’s increase to a jump in bank repossessions, especially in Florida, which saw a 63 percent growth compared to May 2014. Yet again, the state leads the nation with more than 22,000 homes in foreclosure.

Though repossessions, foreclosure starts and auctions continue their downward trend, they have a long way to go before they reach pre-crisis levels.

“May foreclosure numbers are a classic good news-bad news scenario, with the number of homeowners starting the foreclosure process stabilizing at pre-housing crisis levels but the number of homeowners actually losing their homes to foreclosure still well above pre-crisis levels and on the rise,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, in a statement. “Lenders and courts are pushing through stubborn foreclosure cases that have been languishing in foreclosure limbo for years as options to prevent foreclosure are exhausted or left untapped.” — Sean Stewart-Muniz