Even with the foreclosure moratorium announced by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Citi and others, Miami-Dade foreclosures are skyrocketing. There were a total of 56,477 foreclosures in Miami-Dade in 2008. That is 111% higher than 2007’s already historic 26,691. Congratulations Miami! No one thought you could breach 50,000 foreclosures, but I always had faith. As was discussed most recently in the November Miami-Dade foreclosure update, we easily blasted through 55,000.
So how did Miami-Dade accomplish this lofty feat? Well, with months like December - with 5,582 foreclosures - Miami-Dade made short work of my humble goal.
I’ll start off this year with my very optimistic 2009 projection of 60,000 foreclosures (low). I’m sure this wonderful county won’t let me down.
Oh, and a bit of advice for all you Miami condo speculators out there: when the number of foreclosures alone (not including the insane amount of new supply) exceeds the number of sales in the county by ~1.5x, you’re what I like to call… “screwed”.
At some point, you'll have to factor in that there are only soooo many homes in the Miami area so the curve will eventually have to drop………but then again the same property could foreclose over and over and over again too……. Nice charts. Very scary and unfortunate. Prices will continue to drop as any hope in this market to maintain high condo prices turns to shear terror and desperation.
I think the turnover - foreclosed houses go back on market, idiot speculators purchase, idiot speculator underwater in 3 months, idiot speculator stops paying mortgage, idiot speculator goes into foreclosure 1 year later - plays a huge roll in these numbers.
Note: I actually think all these foreclosures are a good thing. None of these people become homeless after foreclosure as we have a 40% OVERSUPPLY of housing. As a matter of fact, these people are liberated from debt slavery, free to rent at a fraction of the cost to own. This cash is freed up to spend in the economy. Otherwise the cash is sucked out of the economy as the owners pay down debt (debt destruction).
[...] The reason? Negative equity and the resulting foreclosures: [...]
[...] Miami residents who are potential home buyers, those seeking to remodel or foreclose older homes are in danger of asbestos exposure because many structures still may contain the toxic substance. Homes and buildings built before 1980 could still contain asbestos-laden materials, which put individuals at risk for asbestos exposure. There are now many healthy alternatives that completely replace the need for hazardous materials. [...]