Florida Leads Nation in Empty Foreclosure Homes
Florida has the highest number of any state in the first quarter of 2015 with 35,903 – a drop from 54,908 in the first quarter of 2014.
Palm Coast, FL – February 8, 2015 – Despite a 35 percent decrease in zombie foreclosures – homes in the foreclosure process where the owner has already moved out – compared to a year ago, Florida has the highest number of any state in the first quarter of 2015 with 35,903 – a drop from 54,908 in the first quarter of 2014.
Zombie foreclosures account for 26 percent of all foreclosures in Florida, according to RealtyTrac's Q1 2015 Zombie Foreclosure Report released today.
Zombie foreclosures decreased from a year ago in Miami, Chicago and Tampa; even so, those three metros still posted the second, third and fourth highest number of zombie foreclosures among metro areas nationwide. Miami had 9,580 zombie foreclosures (19 percent of all foreclosures but down 34 percent from a year ago) and Tampa had 7,838 zombie foreclosures (34 percent of all foreclosures but down 25 percent from a year ago).
New York City had the highest total number of zombie foreclosures with 19,177. It also had a significant increase year-to-year, with its zombie foreclosures rising 73 percent.
Other metro areas among the top 10 for most zombie foreclosures were Orlando (3,718), Jacksonville (2,368), Los Angeles (2,074), Las Vegas (1,832), and Baltimore, Maryland (1,722).
National zombie foreclosures
Nationwide, 142,462 homes actively in the foreclosure process had been vacated by the homeowners prior to the bank repossessing the property – 25 percent of all active foreclosures. The number is down 6 percent year-to-year, but the 25 percent share (percentage that zombie foreclosures are of total foreclosures) was up from 21 percent.
"While the number of vacated zombie foreclosures is down from a year ago, they represent an increasing share of all foreclosures because they tend to be the problem cases still stuck in the pipeline," says Daren Blomquist vice president at RealtyTrac. "Additionally, the states where overall foreclosure activity has been increasing over the past year – counter to the national trend – tend to be states with a longer foreclosure process more susceptible to the zombie problem."
© 2015 Florida Realtors®. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Zombie Foreclosure?
Wish I knew what a Zombie foreclosure is, but, sadly, I don’t. Is it s mortgage that continues to return from the dead/doesn’t want to be resolved? Please explain. And as friendly, constructive criticism, please provide basic explanations for folks like me, when you ground your discussion on a theme/phrase/term that might not be familiar to some in your audience. Aside from that, please keep up your excellent work–much appreciated. Thanks.
Reply to Terry
A zombie foreclosures are where the home us in the foreclosure process bur where the owner has already moved out, basically abandoning the home. Big question over who is responsible. The owner is gone and the bank has not gained possession.