Unfortunately Florida is one of the worst states as far as foreclosures per home goes. There are a whopping 55 thousand foreclosures in Florida currently and another 120 thousand more homes that are facing pre-foreclosure. That’s over 150 thousand families that will be experiencing a huge change in their way of living, even if they do manage to avoid foreclosure.
The main reason that so many homes are facing foreclosure in Florida is the troubled real estate market. Property values have been falling everywhere the past 2-3 years, but Florida has been one of the states that has been hit the hardest. Home values rose and rose and rose, each year, between 15-30% annually. That’s simply irrational and unhealthy behavior.
If you are looking for foreclosure help in Florida, you are in luck. Since Florida has so many homes facing foreclosure, the industry is fairly big. Meaning there will be dozens of qualified agency’s, attorney’s, and non profit’s out their that should be willing to help you out with your situation.
You do not have to be a statistic, you can help your situation, you can help yourself.
Foreclosures have hit nearly every area hard over the past 2 years because of the down turn in the real estate market and the economy in general. However certain areas have been hit the hardest:
- Michigan: Michigan’s economy has taken a huge hit overall. The unemployment rate in Michigan is around 15% which is 50% higher than the unemployment rate for the U.S. as a whole. The real estate market is still in turmoil. Although there are signs of recovery, it will not come in a day, week or year. Expect Michigan’s foreclosure and unemployment rate to stay high for years to come.
- Florida: Florida’s economy has taken a hit, but not any worse than every other state. What makes Florida’s situation so disheartening is its real estate market. Property values in Florida were consistently rising 20+% in the mid 2000’s which is not healthy or realistic. As they say, the bigger they are the harder they fall. The past 2 years Florida has experienced a surge in the number of foreclosures. Florida will recover eventually.
- Nevada: Nevada has struggled similarly to Florida, yet on a much smaller scale. Home prices in Nevada are roughly half of what they were when they peaked in early 2007.