91 Days, 1001 Foreclosures

Warn/Acorn Report on Foreclosures in Pinellas County indicates clearly the challenges families are facing during this economic downturn. You can download the full report (PDF) HERE

THE EXTENT OF THE CRISIS
This report examines a snapshot of the foreclosure crisis in Pinellas County through an analysis of homes undergoing foreclosure proceedings during January, February, and March of 2008. Records of foreclosure proceedings in Pinellas County Circuit Court are available to the public on the County’s official website. A review of these records shows that 3,005 residential foreclosure proceedings were in progress during the first three months of 2008. While foreclosure on any home is a threat to property owners and communities, we wanted to focus on borrowers in the most dire need.

Therefore, we eliminated from our list property owners who owned more than one property in the county, or whose address of record is outside of the county, and ended up with a list of 1,001 foreclosure proceedings—all of which likely involve homeowners in danger of being evicted from their only home and residence (i.e., likely involving “homesteaded” properties). This is the data set presented in this report.

Almost half of these 1,001 foreclosures were occurring in St. Petersburg, but the remainder were spread throughout practically every community in the County—from Tierra Verde to Tarpon Springs. In fact, there was no spot in Pinellas County more than 2 miles from a homeowner facing foreclosure proceedings in early 2008. Furthermore, the crisis is affecting homeowners across the economic spectrum, with homes in foreclosure having market values ranging from under $50,000 to over $1 million. (Almost 10% of the homes on the list are worth more than $300,000.)

THE EFFECTS OF THE CRISIS
While the effects of the foreclosure crisis are harder to quantify than its extent, numerous social and economic ills can be linked to foreclosure. Those evicted from their homes are clearly the most affected—for them, foreclosure may mean a substantially lowered sta dard of living or even homelessness. Their former neighbors and communities,however, also feel the impact.

Between 2005 and 2007, the homeowner vacancy rate in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area rose from 1.8% to 5.1%, giving it in 2007 the second-highest vacancy rate among large metropolitan areas nationwide. High rates of foreclosure and resultant vacancy have been linked to higher crime rates and lower property values. Lower property values, in turn, often result in cuts to much-needed social services, from schools to law enforcement.

The Center for Responsible Lending predicts that Pinellas County properties will lose over $700 million in value as a result of foreclosures related to subprime mortgages issued in 2005-2006 alone. That equates to a loss of over $14 million in property tax revenues.

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If you or anyone you know is in need of assistance, dial 2-1-1. You can also visit the Emergency Assistance Page at My Family’s Future. There may other helpful resources for you and those you care about on that site as well.