Pensacola News Journal, Kris Wernowsky, December 14, 2008
……….Homeowners, renters and investors are the faces of the foreclosure crisis. Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, and the problem steadily is getting worse.
Escambia County ranks 37th, and Santa Rosa County ranks 42nd among the state’s 67 counties in percentage of foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac.com, which collects national foreclosure data.
Gov. Charlie Crist and representatives of mortgage lenders recently put a 45-day holiday moratorium on new foreclosures. Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury is considering a plan to lower fixed-rate mortgages to 4.5 percent, and many hope that plan will be extended to existing mortgage refinancings.
But in mid-January, when the moratorium is over, local real estate experts say there’s every likelihood of a tidal wave of new foreclosures. “It’s safe to say the pace of foreclosures will not abate for probably another 12 months,” said Rick Harper, an economist at the Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development at the University of West Florida.
The grim prediction is backed by grim statistics:
• In Escambia County, 724 foreclosure suits were filed in 2005. In the first 11 months of this year, 2,248 were filed.
• In Santa Rosa County, 292 suits were filed in 2005. Through November of this year, 1,332 had been filed.
• Last month, 196 homes in Escambia County sold. Meanwhile, 120 homes went into foreclosure proceedings.
• Family Promise of Santa Rosa, a nonprofit organization that provides housing assistance, reported one instance of a renter displaced by foreclosure in 2006. Now, the organization gets at least three requests a month from displaced renters, said director Debbie Laird.
Foreclosures hurt the whole community, not just those foreclosed upon.
“Foreclosures are a true barometer of what’s going on in the overall economy,” said Al Muller, co-owner of Metro Market Trends Inc., which collects local housing data.
“It’s hurting Realtors, appraisers, title companies, lawyers, home inspectors — anyone whose business depends on the housing market.”
Pensacola Foreclosure Trends
Road to Foreclosure
Foreclosures by Zip Code
Click on links to download .pdf information.
Contact Cindy 850-393-5134 or EMAIL Cindy@Move2FLA.com
Filed under: Pensacola Beach Foreclosures, Pensacola Beach Short Sales, Pre-foreclosure / Short Sale, Short Sale Pensacola Beach | Tagged: Pensacola short sales, Pensacola Foreclosures
