Foreclosures on Metro Orlando homes are up 23% from July 2017, according to a real estate data analyst, though the numbers are still well below the peak of the recession, and local sales agents say there's not much impact in the market yet.
Last month's 773 foreclosures included 376 starts — up 41% from July 2017, the third straight month foreclosure starts were on the rise.
Still, the Orlando area ranked 24th in the nation's metro areas — a far cry from 2009, when Orlando was among the worst such as Miami and Las Vegas, with judges handling about 2,500 foreclosures in any given month.
"It's very small compared to the kind of numbers we had before," said Barbara Hampden, a Realtor with Remax 200 in Winter Park. "A 23 percent uptick seems like a lot, but ... if it continues for another [three months], then maybe I'd say things are getting away from us."
Among the possible reasons for the rise could be pent-up cases from a foreclosure moratorium imposed after Hurricane Irma, said Attom senior vice president Daren Blomquist. But other factors also exist.
"Most of this increase is likely lenders catching up from the foreclosure moratorium, but we are also seeing similar trends in some other markets that did not have hurricane-induced foreclosure moratoriums," said Blomquist, "indicating there may be more widespread distress seeping back into the housing market."
Fourteen straight months of year-over-year decreases in monthly foreclosures — including drops of 60% to 70% in the final three months of 2017 — had preceded the recent increases and helped further stabilize a relatively healthy market.
Total foreclosures in July were up 11% from June's 698.
For bargain-seeking home shoppers wondering if the foreclosures will create buying opportunities, Hampden said that's unlikely.
"Just because a property goes into foreclosure doesn't mean the value has gone down — it's just that the owner can't make the payments," she said. "The value may still be above water," or more than the owner owes on the home.
And it often takes an all-cash purchase to secure a foreclosure or a short sale amid heavy competition for values.
"Otherwise you can be left standing on the sidelines with offers going nowhere," Hampden said.
