Florida foreclosures spike

One in every 57 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest RealtyTrac report.

That represents a spike in foreclosure activity, with the number of statewide foreclosures increasing by 153,540. That number is 28.8% higher than 2009's first quarter foreclosure total, and 7% higher than the fourth quarter of 2009.

The number of foreclosures filed in March 2010 was 9.3% higher than in the previous month. But James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, says that is a pattern his company has seen before.

“Foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2010 followed a very similar pattern to what we saw in the first quarter of 2009: a shallow trough in January and February followed by a substantial spike in March,” Saccacio said in a release.

This year's activity was in some ways unique, however. “One difference,” Saccacio pointed out, “is that the increases were more tilted toward the final stage of foreclosure.”

That difference could be a silver lining in the news. Saccacio suggested, “may be further evidence that lenders are starting to make a dent in the backlog of distressed inventory that has built up over the last year as foreclosure prevention programs and processing delays slowed down the normal foreclosure timeline.”