ForeclosureS.com: Party's Over in Florida

Foreclosure activity in Florida is skyrocketing and "the party's over" for real estate speculators, according to ForeclosureS.com, a Fair Oaks, Calif.-based investment advisory firm.The publisher of foreclosure information said nearly 23,000 properties were in some stage of foreclosure in Florida as of mid-September. "We've known for some time that, especially in South Florida, the market was seriously overbuilt," said Alexis McGee, president of ForeclosureS.com. "For example, there were about 25,000 condo units under construction at the end of the second quarter of 2006. That is more than have been sold in that market in the last nine years." As for speculators who "flip" properties for profit, Ms. McGee said she believes that "they have been selling to each other in Florida, rather than to end-users. Now, like elsewhere in the country, the party's over." The company can be found online at http://www.foreclosures.com.