South Florida On Pace For 100,000 Foreclosures In 2009

Lenders have filed more than 52,000 foreclosures actions in South Florida in the first six months of the year, putting the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties on pace for more than 100,000 filings in 2009, according to a new report from Condo Vultures® LLC.

By comparison, lenders filed about 38,000 foreclosures actions in the first six months of 2008 and more than 75,000 actions for the year. In 2007, banks filed nearly 8,000 actions in the first half of the year and more than 32,000 for the year, according to data from the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.

"South Florida foreclosure actions are on the rise by 33 percent this year," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures®. "If the pace continues through the second half of the year, South Florida will experience its greatest number of foreclosure actions in a generation."
As foreclosure filings mushroom at a pace of nearly 2,200 per week, the number of South Florida properties on the market for resale is falling at a pace of about 900 per week.

Consider that on July 6, there were about 78,000 single-family houses, condo units, and townhouses for resale in the tricounty area. On Nov. 24, 2008, there were nearly 108,000 properties for sale in South Florida, according to a Condo Vultures® report generated using Florida Association of Realtors data.

"Buyers are hungry for deeply discounted properties," Zalewski said. "Many of the residences that are, in fact, trading are transacting at discounts of more than 50 percent off of their historical high asking prices of 2006 and 2007. Most of these residences tend to priced under $250,000 and located in suburban areas that do not generally appeal to second-home buyers. "

Another factor contributing to the decreasing South Florida resale inventory even while the number of foreclosure filings is increasing is the lengthy legal process necessary before a lender can repossess a residence.

To repossess a South Florida residence, lenders normally anticipate a six month to nine month process that will cost between $40,000 and $80,000 per property. In addition to that, many lenders do not even file the initial foreclosure paperwork - known as a Lis Pendens or a Notice of Default - until a borrower is at least 90 days late on regularly scheduled mortgage payments.

Once a lender finally does repossess a property, the bank inherits the responsibility of settling up outstanding liens on the property that live on after the foreclosure, such as property taxes, past-due condo association maintenance fees, and open permits.

On a county-by-county basis through the first half of 2009, Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood Beach are located, has the highest number of foreclosure filings with 22,730, up 36 percent from 16,773 filings during the same period in 2008.

Palm Beach County, where Boca Raton and West Palm Beach are located, is second for foreclosure filings with 14,959 in 2009, up 37 percent from 10,917 filings in the first six months of 2008.

Miami-Dade County, where Miami Beach and Aventura are located, is third with 14,474 foreclosure filings between January and June 2009, up 40 percent from 10,368 filings in the first half of 2008.

4th Bulk Condo Deal Closes In Downtown Miami
A Miami Beach company headed by Jorge Mattos has purchased 21 units in the Marina Blue condominium tower in Downtown Miami for $5.69 million, or $196 per square foot, in an all-cash deal involving the project's former mezzanine lender, according to a new CondoVultures.com report.

Mattos is a business partner of Carlos Mattos who purchased 31 units for $6.1 million, or $203 per square foot, in mid-June at the 1060 Brickell condominium tower in Miami's Brickell Avenue financial district, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report.
A Carlos Mattos company is in position to own a 1.4-acre oceanfront property zoned for a high-rise condo tower in Sunny Isles Beach that is scheduled to be auctioned off in the next 60 days to the highest all-cash bidder at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse, according to a CondoVultures.com report.

All-Star Panel Set For Free First-Time Home Buyers Seminar
An all-star panel of South Florida experts is scheduled to discuss the "Dos and Don'ts" that every first-time home buyer should know when purchasing a deeply discounted residence at the upcoming Condo Vultures® seminar.
The panelists will be announced in the weeks leading up to the free event (registration is required) scheduled from 5:30 pm to 8 pm, July 28, at the Doubletree Grand Hotel in Greater Downtown Miami.

For more information, please contact John Fakler, executive editor of CondoVultures.com, at 800-750-0517 or by email at JFakler@condovultures.com.

Story by Peter Zalweski of Condo Vultures