JACKSONVILLE, Fla – A new study finds the Sunshine State is No. 2 in the U.S. — right behind California — for the number of homes going into foreclosure.
According to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions released Thursday, there were 25,833 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions. That’s up 11% from a month ago and up 129% from a year ago.
The real estate analyst company ATTOM says in Florida, where housing costs and inflation are the name of the game, there were 1,527 foreclosure starts. The study highlighted Lakeland, where roughly one in every 2,000 homes was foreclosed on. It was the fourth highest proportion, or foreclosure rate, in the country.
And, according to the study, Jacksonville and Orlando weren’t far behind. In Jacksonville, one in every 2,453 homes were foreclosed on. In Orlando, it was one in every 2,655.
The ATTOM study says while foreclosures were up around the nation last month compared to last year, they were still down significantly from January.
And it may not be a sign of weakness in the housing market. The analysts say it could actually be the gradual return to normal levels of foreclosure activity after two years of artificially low numbers — all from government and housing industry efforts to protect financially-strapped homeowners from defaulting.