Foreclosed Properties Cloud Florida Governor’s Budget Speech
The continued rise in foreclosed properties in Florida clouded the speech of Governor Charlie Crist last week at the signing of Florida’s budget of $66.5 billion.
Crist reiterated that consumer confidence has been rising and that the statewide jobless rate has declined to 9.6 percent. He also said that sales of homes are soaring, but he did not mention that most of the sales were foreclosed properties and short sales.
According to Jay Brinkmann, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Florida is still among the four states accounting for nearly 50 percent of all new foreclosed properties nationwide. Florida, together with California, Arizona and Nevada, comprised 56 percent of all increases in foreclosure starts. These four states also accounted for 50 percent of the rise in prime foreclosure starts.
Also, Florida has the biggest foreclosure rate, based on MBA records. One house in ten housing units in the state is in foreclosure. In the first quarter this year, nearly 3 percent of all mortgage loans in Florida were hit with foreclosure filings. Florida’s rate was second only to Nevada, in which 3.4 percent of loans were hit with filings.
Meanwhile, sales of homes in the state in April increased by 18 percent, compared to April 2008. Home prices are still down, currently 31 percent below the price levels in April last year. The rise in foreclosed properties has been affecting both home prices and home sales.
The statewide jobless rate dropped by only a small fraction in April to 9.6, but Governor Crist emphasized the increase by saying that the jobless rate decline is one sign that Florida’s economy is recovering more quickly than expected.
Crist also stressed that Florida is economically better than other states. He said that other states have increased taxes on income, gas and sales and have cut down health and education services to needy families.
In a previous meeting with the press, Governor Crist announced his intention of running for the U.S. Senate.
Meanwhile, officials of the state Agency for Workforce Innovation cautioned about interpreting the negligible decline in the jobless rate.
University of Central Florida’s economist Sean Snaith insisted that one month’s data is not enough to cover the fact that 10 percent of houses across the state are either foreclosed properties or in other stages of foreclosure.
Nevertheless, foreclosed properties figured in Governor Crist’s budget. The budget bill included an increase in bank foreclosure fees to help the courts handle foreclosure filings which have increased, with 64,588 cases filed in April alone.
Related Posts:
- Florida, Orlando Again on Top of Foreclosed Property Chart
- Foreclosed Homes for Sale in Atlanta: Median Price Falling
- Cheap Foreclosed Properties for Sale Drove Sales in Florida
- Slow Drop in Home Prices Despite Rise in Repossessed Homes
- Foreclosure for Sale Leads July House Sales in Florida
