Turning A Corner? New Foreclosure Filings Drop 26% In South Florida In 2013 Published on 1/7/2014 6:31:00 PM 
Less than 37,300 foreclosure actions were filed in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach in the year 2013, representing a 26 percent decrease in notices of default initiated on a year-over-year basis compared to the 50,350 actions launched during the same January through December period in 2012, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.
The decrease in foreclosure filings in the year 2013 means nearly 386,500 notices of default - the first step in the repossession process - have been initiated in the South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties since the real estate crash began in 2007, according to the report based on the Condo Vultures® Foreclosure Database™.
In previous years, the number of foreclosure filings in South Florida has fluctuated with nearly 34,100 actions in 2011, more than 57,600 actions in 2010, nearly 98,300 filings in 2009, more than 75,700 actions in 2008, and less than 33,200 filings in 2007, according to the report based on filings with the Clerks of the Court for each respective county.
"New foreclosure filings in South Florida have decreased to their slowest pace in years," said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Greater Downtown Miami-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. "Given the increasing signs of a strengthening South Florida real estate market, it is possible that this decrease in new foreclosure filings in 2013 could be the start of a new trend. Higher real estate prices resulting from increased demand could provide various options for property owners who have fallen behind on their mortgages."
CondoVultures.com is scheduled to profile condo trends in the fourth quarter of 2013 in the 10 largest coastal markets in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties beginning the week of January 13, 2014.
The Condo Vultures® Market Intelligence Report™ is scheduled to publish a 10-part weekly series that analyzes the markets of Greater Downtown Miami, South Beach, Bal Harbour / Surfside / Bay Harbor Islands, Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Hollywood / Hallandale Beach, Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach, and Downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island.
In South Florida in the year 2013, Broward posted the greatest number of new foreclosure actions with more than 15,500 filings initiated between January and December compared to nearly 20,350 filings a year earlier in 2012. In Miami-Dade, more than 13,650 filings were initiated between January and December of 2013 compared to nearly 18,000 actions in the same 12-month period in 2012. In Palm Beach, nearly 8,100 filings were initiated in the year 2013 compared to about 12,000 filings during the same 12-month period in 2012, according to the data.
Administrative irregularities - dubbed "robo-signers" - in the repossession process first surfaced in late September 2010, creating a "foreclosure freeze" that prompted many lenders to slow the number of defaults being initiated against borrowers in South Florida between October and December 2010 compared to the same three-month period in 2009.
The slowdown in the foreclosure filing process continued throughout 2011.
In February 2012 after months of negotiations, the nation's five largest mortgage servicers reached the National Mortgage Settlement Agreement with the federal government and the attorneys general from 49 states to provide at least $25 billion in relief to borrowers.
The settlement agreement incentivizes the mortgage services to consider various options – including principal reductions, mortgage modifications, and shortsales - before filing to foreclose on borrowers who owe more than their residences are worth currently, according to the agreement.
Buyers purchased 37 percent fewer condos and townhouses as shortsales in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in the year 2013 on a year-over-year basis compared to the same January through December period in 2012, according to an analysis by the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.
As of January 3, 2014, about 1,430 condos and townhouses are on the resale market as shortsales in South Florida while an additional 4,050 shortsale units are under contract waiting to transact, according to the report based on Florida Realtors association data.
Shortsale units currently represent about six percent of the total condo and townhouse inventory available for resale in South Florida, according to the data
As the volume of shortsales on the resale market shrinks, an increasing number of developers are proposing new condo projects for South Florida.
As of January 6, 2013, at least 183 new condo towers with more than 24,800 units are proposed, planned, under construction, or recently completed in the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, according to the Preconstruction Condo Projects Database™ compiled by the licensed Florida brokerage CVR Realty™.
Some six years after the South Florida real estate crash began in 2007, four new condo projects (in order) - 23 Biscayne Bay, 4001 North Ocean, Apogee Beach, and Bellini Williams Island - have already been completed in the tricounty region and 45 other buildings - Aventura's Echo Aventura (two towers), and Marina Palms Yacht Club & Residences (one tower); Bal Harbour's Oceana Bal Harbour; Fort Lauderdale's Adagio Residences; Greater Downtown Miami's 1100 Millecento Residences, Bay House, Bond At Brickell, Brickell Citycentre (two towers), BrickellHouse, Centro, Habitat II, ICON Bay, MyBrickell, Nine At Mary Brickell Village projects; Hallandale Beach's Beachwalk; Hollywood's Costa Hollywood (two towers), H3,Positano Beach; Sage Beach (two towers); Key Biscayne's 101 Key Biscayne and Oceana (two towers); Miami's Baltus House in the Morningside area and Grove At Grand Bay (two towers) in Coconut Grove; Miami Beach's 321 Ocean Drive (two towers), Faena House, Glass, Marea South Beach, One Ocean (two towers), Peloro Miami Beach, and Residences At Miami Beach Edition; and Sunny Isles Beach's 400 Sunny Isles (two towers), Chateau Beach, Jade Signature, Mansions At Acqualina, Porsche Design Tower, and Regalia - are under construction as the post-crash development era gains momentum, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report.
The push for new condo construction comes as the boom-era unit inventory is dwindling in South Florida.
Fueled by investors primarily from overseas, about 1,780 new condo units remain unsold from a supply of nearly 49,000 units created since 2003 in South Florida’s seven largest coastal markets of Greater Downtown Miami, South Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Hollywood / Hallandale Beach, Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach, Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach, and Downtown West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island as of September 30, 2013, according to a recent CondoVultures.com report.
The total number of unsold new condos does not include any of the more than 8,000 units that were purchased in bulk transactions by investment groups that plan to one day resell the units at a premium, according to the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™.
A number of the newly proposed condo units are not expected to be completed until 2014 when the unsold developer inventory from South Florida's last real estate boom and bust is projected to be sold.
It is important to note there are various stages to a residential real estate transaction in South Florida.
A transaction begins when a property is made available for sale and ends when a title is conveyed from one party to another party as a result of the recording of a deed with the local government.
As part of the process, a property typically goes under contract and into a due diligence phase by which a deal can be canceled.
The CondoVultures.com new condo sales report is based on completed transactions where a deed is recorded and taxes paid as a result of the sale.
Condo Vultures® LLC is a real estate consultancy and marketing company based at 425 NE 22nd St., Suite 409, Downtown Miami, Florida, 33137. Condo Vultures® LLC can be reached at 800-750-0517.
Don't forget to sign up for our weekly Market Intelligence Report™ for detailed condo reports to stay informed on the latest market trends and to find out about our various Condo Vultures® Seminars. Looking for a property at a deep discount? Take a peek at the Vultures Database™ or view our Video Library. Looking for bulk projects direct from developers or lenders? Visit the Condo Vultures® Bulk Deals Database™. Our books, the Official Condo Buyers Guide to Miami™, Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Sunny Isles Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Hollywood / Hallandale Beach™, Official Condo Buyers Guide to Downtown West Palm Beach™, and Official Condo Buyers Guide to Boca Raton / Deerfield Beach™, are now available. Want to see every foreclosure filed in South Florida since 2007? Check out our Foreclosure Database™.
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