Florida retained its dubious distinction as the state with the highest percentage of homes in some stage of foreclosure, according to data released by CoreLogic Friday.
According to the data firm, Florida’s foreclosure inventory level declined 0.6 percentage points in May from a year earlier, with 11.9 percent of the state’s mortgaged homes mired in some stage of foreclosure. The state with the second highest level was New Jersey, with 6.6 percent; followed by Illinois, with 5.3 percent; New York with 5.0 percent; and Nevada with 4.9 percent.
About 1.4 million U.S. homes — 3.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage — were in some stage of foreclosure in May. That figure was flat with April and down from 1.5 million, or 3.5 percent, a year earlier, CoreLogic said.
The company said 92,405 foreclosures were completed in Florida over the 12 months ended with May 2012, compared with 819,327 homes nationwide.
Five states accounted for 48.8 percent of all completed foreclosures during the year ended in May: California, Florida, Michigan, Texas and Georgia, the company said.
Among the reasons for the state’s status as an epicenter of foreclosures: Florida was a magnet for speculation and mortgage fraud during the housing boom. Florida handles foreclosures in its courts, a process that typically takes longer than the administrative proceedings used in some states.
By Martha Brannigan
The Miami Herald
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