South Florida leads nation in foreclosures

South Florida had the dubious distinction of leading the nation in foreclosure activity in 2013.

The latest report from Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac shows the region had a year-end foreclosure rate of 3.9 percent, which ranked highest among large metropolitan areas. With 96,710 foreclosure actions, judgments or repossessions, South Florida had a six percent increase in foreclosure activity from 2012. Seven other Florida metro areas ended up having a foreclosure rate that ranked in the top 10 nationally last year.

Florida’s 3.01 percent foreclosure rate was higher than all other states in 2013. The state had 269,649 foreclosure-related filings, good for a 3.4 percent drop from 2012. Florida had more than 306,000 properties in some form of foreclosure in December, which accounts for 25 percent of the national total. — Eric Kalis