83 Foreclosures Daily in South Florida in 2009

Lenders took back 83 properties per day last year in the tri-county South Florida region, according to CondoVultures.com. In a report based on government records in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the consulting firm counted more than 30,000 foreclosures in 2009, and the number "could have been higher" had the local court system not been so overwhelmed, said Peter Zalewski, a principal in the Bal Harbour-based CondoVultures. "The courts and government are searching for creative measures — including online auctions and required discussions between borrowers and lenders at the early stages of mortgage defaults — to stem the foreclosure problem," he reported. Lenders seized 8,864 properties in the fourth quarter of 2009, outpacing the 8,240 properties seized in the third quarter, the 5,992 properties repossessed in the second quarter, and the 7,311 properties taken back in the first quarter, according to the report.