Due to Rising Foreclosure Rates, Florida Real Estate Could be a Bargain

Due to its climate and reasonable prices, the Florida housing market has always been an attractive destination for those seeking home mortgages.

Now, thanks to sky-rocketing foreclosure rates, the best bargains in the area may be yet to come.

Last month, the Florida foreclosure rate across the state increased by 21%, according to Default Research, the rapidly growing real estate research company for foreclosure properties.

“The holiday season is coming up – south Florida condominiums could be the bargain of the season,” said Serdar Bankaci, president and chief executive officer of Default Research, Inc. “There were a lot of condos bought for investment purposes, and with the downturn in the real estate economy, many investors are being forced to sell their condos for much cheaper then what they paid for them.”

The highest increases in the foreclosure rate came in Clay County (40%) and Lee (38%). The increase in the tri-county region of southern Florida looked like this: Palm Beach (26%), Miami (25%) and Broward (23%).

Bankaci doesn’t see this trend slowing down anytime soon.

“This large inventory of homes creates an excellent opportunity for investors to buy homes below value, specifically condos,” said Bankaci. “South Florida, in the long run, will be home to many baby boomers looking for retirement residences or families looking for seasonal housing. “

Bankaci further explained that the condos provide an excellent living space with minimal maintenance, elevator and many amenities. Also, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade have excellent airport access for those residences that want to use these areas to make their seasonal homes.

“Don’t give up on the South Florida market at all,” said Bankaci. “To tell you the truth, with Default Research’s pre-foreclosure information, many investors or even those individuals looking to purchase a second home or condo for below market value can really profit.”

While Default Research offers the freshest foreclosure leads for the entire state, one area where foreclosure activity is down in Orange County. According to Bankaci, the Orlando housing market is not being hit with the explosive foreclosure activity because their real estate prices did not rise as drastically as in the southern part of the state.