July foreclosure report mixed foreclosure action

MANATEE — Much worse than the previous month, but slightly better than a year ago,

That was the state of foreclosure activity in Manatee County last month, according to data released today.

One in every 148 Manatee households — 1,147 in all — received a foreclosure-related notice in July, RealtyTrac said in its latest monthly report. That’s 320 more notices than June but 20 fewer than the number issued in July 2009, the Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure tracking service said.

The figures didn’t surprise foreclosure experts, who expected filings to pick up as lenders became more familiar with a mediation program launched in June.

But they also saw signs that Manatee will remain mired in the foreclosure crisis: While banks repossessed fewer homes (160) in July than in June (224), they’re also filing more foreclosure cases and scheduling more auctions. Lenders initiated 349 cases in Manatee County Circuit Court last month, snapping a four-month streak of declines, court records show. The number of auctions nearly doubled, from 286 in June to 542 last month, RealtyTrac said.

And the problem likely will remain severe despite government efforts — such as $3 billion in additional spending the Obama administration announced Wednesday — to prevent foreclosure, experts said.

“As folks get tired of waiting for a solution, we’re going to see more foreclosures,” wrote Shari Olefson, a Fort Lauderdale real estate attorney who wrote “Foreclosure Nation: Mortgaging the American Dream,” in an e-mail. “Nothing seems to have changed for the better.”

She cited high unemployment, falling or stagnant home prices and elevated levels of negative equity as factors.

Manatee had the eighth-highest rate of foreclosure activity among Florida counties, RealtyTrac said.

The state’s rate of one filing for every 171 homes was more than double the U.S. average and ranked as the country’s third-highest, behind only Nevada and Arizona.

Florida’s 51,557 filings was second-most behind California and accounted for 16 percent of the U.S. total of 325,229, the company said.It was the 17th consecutive month that the number of U.S. foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000, and bank repossessions also have risen year-over-year for eight straight months.

Among metro areas, Las Vegas (one in every 71) had the highest rate of foreclosure filings last month.

The worst ten included two Florida areas: Fort Myers at No. 2 and Orlando at No. 8.

Duane Marsteller, transportation/growth and development reporter, can be reached at 745-7080, ext. 2630.