FLORIDA – Florida has the highest rate of foreclosure filings in the country, a property data firm reported, but local real estate leaders say the situation is not comparable to the housing crash nearly two decades ago.
ATTOM, which specializes in property data, reported that 0.44 percent of residential properties in Florida had foreclosure filings, putting the state just ahead of Delaware, South Carolina and Illinois.
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“Many people say this is what it looked like back in 2007 and 2008. We’re not even close,” Gonzalo Mejia, incoming president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, said.
Mejia said affordability has deteriorated mainly because of rising interest rates.
“At one point, we were below 3 percent. Now they are about twice that, and that has affected affordability,” he said.
He pointed to a chart showing mortgages in distress were enormous from 2008 through 2016, with only a small uptick heading into 2026.
Mejia said the foreclosure pressure is more concentrated in South Florida, where the Surfside condominium collapse a few years ago has led to higher fees for condo owners. South Florida has a larger share of tall, older condominium buildings than northeast Florida, he said.
“It impacts condo buildings that have more than three stories of habitable units and over a certain age. That is not common here in northeast Florida,” Mejia said.
Mejia also cited property insurance and property taxes as areas to watch. He said more insurance carriers have entered Florida in recent years, increasing competition and lowering prices.
He added that the state legislature will debate whether to eliminate property taxes this year, a complex conversation that could affect affordability and local revenues.