Foreclosures up in Fla., U.S.

By Linda Rawls

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The number of homeowners falling behind on their mortgages nearly quadrupled in St. Lucie County last month compared with a year ago, but remained nearly unchanged in Palm Beach County, RealtyTrac said Tuesday.

In Martin County, households entering some stage of foreclosure declined by 49 percent year-over-year, while Florida foreclosures surged 71 percent.


Nationwide, U.S. foreclosures dipped below a two-year high set the previous month, but rose 62 percent from April 2006 in the wake of falling home prices and the subprime mortgage mess, analysts said.

"What's going on up and down the coast?" said Gary Woodfield, a litigation partner at Edwards Angell in West Palm Beach. "Everyone is strained by the triple combination of increased interest rates, taxes and insurance. But the Palm Beach County economy is stronger.

"At least for the present, we can handle it."

Florida had the second-highest number of filings in the nation with a total of 14,318 households entering some stage of foreclosure last month, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac said. California is No. 1 with 30,505 filings.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/05/16/a1d_foreclosures_0516.html

in Marion county I can see why.