St. Lucie County Hammered By Foreclosures
It was the best and it was the worst of times in the Treasure Coast last month. Falling home prices and rising Florida mortgage payments pushed hundreds of homeowners into foreclosure, the Palm Beach Post reports.
A total of 370 households in the St. Lucie housing market entered some stage of Florida mortgage default - the worst foreclosure record in the tri-county Treasure Coast region in March, and a startling 444 percent increase over March of 2006, according to RealtyTrac.
There were only 68 households in some stage of foreclosure in March 2006.
In Martin County, however, only 38 households entered foreclosure, the best showing in the Treasure Coast and a 12 percent decline from the 43 defaults in March 2006. Indian River County, the other Treasure Coast County, had 58 properties in foreclosure.
Palm Beach County fell somewhere in between last month, posting a 6 percent increase in foreclosures year over year. Homeowners got 784 default notices, auction notices and repossessions. That compares with 738 in March 2006.
The five-year housing boom that ended last year opened home ownership to a record number of Americans, but the bust that followed is the worst housing decline in 16 years.
The resetting of adjustable-rate home loans is beginning to force monthly Florida mortgage loan payments higher, while income remains stable and property values plunge, preventing homeowners from selling their way out of foreclosure.
“Overburdened homeowners simply can’t catch a break in this real estate market,” said Mike Larson, an analyst at Weiss Research. “Home sales are down by double digits, home prices are stagnant or falling, and home inventories are through the roof.”
These factors make it hard for property owners facing foreclosure to sell their homes and pay off their loans, while tightened home loan standards make it impossible for troubled debtors to qualify for Florida mortgage refinancing at better terms.
That’s a recipe not just for rising foreclosures but also for soaring inventory. Palm Beach County has a 21-month supply of unsold homes.
“All of these forces are driving loan defaults and foreclosures higher,” analyst Larson of Weiss Research said, “and I doubt we’ll see much relief until at least 2008. “By then, for-sale inventory will hopefully be more in line with core housing demand.”
In Florida, which ranked seventh in the nation in foreclosure rate last month, one in every 511 households was in some stage of foreclosure.
That compares with one in 775 nationwide.
“State foreclosure filings fluctuate wildly from month to month, and caution is advised in making too much of a one- or two-month trend,” said Thomas Lawler of Lawler Economic & Housing Consulting in Vienna, Va.
“The Florida housing market is worth watching closely, however, as home sales in that state remain severely depressed, while the inventory of homes has rocketed and the ‘months’ supply’ of inventory in Florida is more than double the national average.”
SOURCE: Palm Beach Post
