Mixed bag: Foreclosures down in Pinellas, up elsewhere
When it comes to foreclosures in April, not all counties in the Tampa Bay area were created equal.
In the past couple weeks we've reported how home prices are dropping more steeply in the suburbs where the building spree was most intense. It's probably no surprise that foreclosures are mirroring that trend.
Here's what the RealtyTrac numbers are saying:
- Pinellas County saw foreclosures dip 19 percent from March to April. About 996 foreclosure filings were counted in April, or one for every 503 households. Year over year, such filings were up 63 percent. Pinellas ranked 29th in the state for mortgage default filings, which places it in the middle somewhere.
- Pasco County reported foreclosures filings were up 13 percent from March to April for a total of 728. That's one in every 292 households. Pasco ranked 15th in the state for homes entering the foreclosure process. Year over year, mortgage default filings were up 94 percent in April.
- Hillsborough County reported 1,889 foreclosure filings in April, a 9 percent increase from March. About 1 in every 268 households was so affected, placing Hillsborough 15th in the state. Foreclosures were up 157 percent from April 2007 to April 2008.
- Hernando County came off the worst. Its 561 filings ranked it 4th in the state, up 226 percent from a year earlier and up 135 percent from March. About 1 in every 138 households were affected.
A few words of warning about the RealtyTrac data: The company tends to double count filings against a single property, so the totals aren't as high as they seem. What's more, that Hernando increase from March to April - 135 percent - seems suspiciously high considering neighboring Pasco's foreclosures were up only 13 percent month to month.
(Un)Real Estate offers a peek at the housing market usually reserved for insiders. While it focuses on the Tampa Bay area, it won't neglect dipping
into the rest of Florida and beyond. Its goal? Simple: To help you keep a roof over your head without losing your shirt.
Typo--maybe 13.5%
Posted by: alex | May 15, 2008 at 01:09 PM
Foreclosures were up 157 percent from April 2007 to April 2007.
I believe you meant from April 2007 to April 2008.
Posted by: Fuzzy Bear | May 16, 2008 at 09:53 AM
Unfortunately I checked the hard numbers for Hernando and 135 percent is the correct math.
Posted by: James Thorner | May 16, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Paulson still said "housing is the biggest risk to our economy," and warned that "foreclosures will remain elevated even if we avoid every single preventable foreclosure."
"If someone can"t afford their home and must move, it's painful," he said."
If someone walks away from a mortgage they can afford, it"s irresponsible."
Posted by: Fuzzy Bear | May 16, 2008 at 01:41 PM