Florida has been hogging the headlines because of its record foreclosures, and it’s not only the foreclosure numbers that are attracting the media, but also things such as the following:
1. Florida has received almost $1.308 billion from the federal government to help contain its foreclosures, the second highest received by a state since the launching of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in 2008.
Under the first funding round of the NSP, Florida received 541.4 million, the highest allocation among states. Again, under the second NSP funding round, Florida got the highest amount, which was $348.31 million.
When President Obama announced another federal aid in February, Florida got $418 million, the second highest allocation. California got the highest share. Nonetheless, Florida’s funding accounted for almost 28 percent of the total $1.5 billion given to only five states.
2. Florida has become the pioneer and model for online public foreclosure auctions.
Since the state allowed online public auctions in 2008 – the first state to do so – there are now 11 counties in Florida that conduct their foreclosure auctions online. The first was Duval County and the latest was Broward. Ten of the auction sites are handled by realauction.com, which previously auctioned tax liens in many counties in Florida. The other counties are Charlotte, Lee, Miami-Dade, Manatee, Okaloosa, Pasco, Sarasota and Walton. The online foreclosure auction of Palm Beach County is handled by Grant Street Group.
With the public auctions put online, county courts have been cutting their backlogs and more people have now access to the auctions, including out-of-state and foreign investors.
3. Florida has 12 of its metro areas ranked among the 100 most affordable housing markets in the nation in the first quarter this year.
Based on the home affordability index of Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders, 12 Florida metro areas had most of their homes affordable to households earning the median income in the area.
4. Lower prices have been driving home sales to record levels in Florida.
First time home buyers and retirees who could not afford to buy a home before have been taking advantage of the affordable prices. In April, the median sales price for an existing home in Florida was $140,100 while the median for an existing condo was $103,600, based on data from a realtor association.
5. Record supply of foreclosure homes has been attracting buyers.
Based on the latest report released by an online research firm, Florida has almost 202,000 homes put into foreclosure in the first four months of 2010 and more than 31,300 of these were already repossessed by banks ready for resale.
Despite the problem of foreclosures, Florida still has the same attributes that attract about 85 million visitors to the state every year. Great weather, fabulous outdoor amenities, unique entertainment facilities and beautiful beaches are still making Florida a favorite destination.
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