Foreclosure Filings in Tri-Country South Florida Fall

The number of foreclosure filings in tri-county South Florida declined for the third consecutive month in March, according to the latest figures from CondoVultures, a Bal Harbour-based consulting firm. Although government programs have something to do with the fall off in filings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the trend has more to do with the fact that lenders are coming to grips with the reality of the marketplace, said Peter Zalewski, a CondoVultures principal. "Lenders now know that a foreclosure action will take 18 months and at least $100,000 to complete in South Florida, which is three times longer and twice as expensive as back in 2007 when the crisis first began," Zalewski said. The consultant pointed out that once the bank takes back ownership, a troubled property usually sells for about the same amount as a comparable short sale, which can be completed in a fraction of the time. "Bankers are smart people so it is no surprise to see a change in strategy and the drop in foreclosure filings given the pure economics of the situation," he said. Foreclosure filings in March were off 20% from the month before. In February, they were down 19% from January, and in January down 7% from December, according to the firm.