Florida posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the sixth consecutive month in February, reporting one in every 282 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month, RealtyTrac, the leading market place for foreclosure properties and real estate data, said Thursday.
One in every 282 Florida housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month — more than three times the national average. A total of 31,726 Florida properties had a foreclosure filing during the month, up 6 percent from the previous month and up 20 percent from February 2012 to a 16-month high, the Irvine, California-based company said.
Of the top 10 metro foreclosure rates, Florida accounts for seven, led by the Miami, Orlando, Ocala, Tampa and Palm Bay metro areas in the top five spots.
Reporting one in every 219 housing units with a foreclosure filing in February, the Miami metro area posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more.
Orlando metro area, in the number two spot, saw one in 225 housing units with a foreclosure filing, in the month of February 2013.
Foreclosure activity has increased from a year ago in all seven Florida cities with top 10 metro foreclosure rates, the group said.
RealtyTrac said, nationwide, foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 154,281 U.S. properties in February, an increase of 2 percent from the previous month but still down 25 percent from February 2012.
