Foreclosure rates in Cape Coral-Fort Myers on the rise

Foreclosure rates in Cape Coral-Fort Myers have increased for the month of March over the same period last year, according to First American CoreLogic, a leading collector of national, state and local data on home prices, foreclosure and delinquency activity, real estate sales volume and mortgage loan activity.

According to recent data from First American CoreLogic on foreclosures for the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area, the rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans is 13.3 percent for the month of March, an increase of 5.3 percentage points compared to March of 2008 when the rate was 8 percent. Also in Cape Coral-Fort Myers, the mortgage delinquency rate has increased. According to First American CoreLogic preview data for March, 22.1 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent compared to 12.8 percent for the same period last year, representing an increase of 9.3 percentage points.

During the past 12 months, from April 2008 to March 2009, there was a total of 45,150 foreclosure filings in Cape Coral-Fort Myers, or approximately 123.7 per day. That compares to the previous 12-month period of April 2007 to March 2008 when there were 20,544 foreclosure filings, or approximately 56.28 per day. Public record foreclosure filings include the three steps in the foreclosure process beginning with the pre-foreclosure filing or Notice of Default, which typically occurs after the 90-day delinquency period; the Notice of Foreclosure Sale when the property is scheduled for auction; and the Notification of Sale filed after the property is sold at auction. If the property isn't sold at auction, it goes back to the lender and is considered Real Estate Owned.

Foreclosure data for First American Core- Logic is reported based on the actual number of active mortgage loans rather than the total number of households in a given area, which provides more accurate results by removing paid-in-full mortgages from the equation.

For detailed information on foreclosures by Zip code and property, visit www.realquest.com.