Lenders repossessed 17,200 properties in the tri-county South Florida area in the third quarter, more than double the number they "popped" in the same period last year. At the same time, the value of new foreclosure filings in July, August and September was down substantially.
According to CondoVultures, just under 8,250 properties were taken back by lenders in the third quarter of 2009. And even if you counted the third quarters of 2007, 2008 and 2009 together, the total wouldn't be as high as the 17,200 repoed this year in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Lenders took back 7,100 South Florida properties in the third quarter ‘08 and an additional 3,000 in the same period of ‘07, according to the report, which was compiled from Clerk of the Court records.
Peter Zalewski, a principal in the Bal Harbour-based consulting firm, said it is uncertain what impact the moratoriums recently announced by several large lenders as a result of "robo-gate" would have going forward. But for now, he said repossessions "are skyrocketing...The repossessions are finally starting to flow after several months and years of delays in the court process."
Meanwhile, lenders in the third quarter filed to foreclose on $3.5 billion in outstanding loans secured by properties in the region, CondoVultures also reported. That's a 38% decline compared to the same period last year, when the value of properties on the receiving end of foreclosure notices was $5.7 billion.
Lenders filed to foreclose on $4.4 billion in mortgages in the third quarter ‘08 and $3 billion in the third quarter ‘07.
