The number of new foreclosures in Palm Beach County remains significantly lower than the previous year, according to the latest statistics available from the office of Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock.
There were 643 new foreclosures filed in November, a 2.7 percent decrease from 661 foreclosures in October, and a 46.7 percent decrease from 1,207 cases filed in November 2012. As a comparison, there were 2,198 foreclosures in November 2009, the year Palm Beach County foreclosure filings reached a historic high of 31,678.
“If current trends hold, Palm Beach County will see approximately one-third fewer foreclosures filed this year than were filed in 2012,” Bock said. “There is a combination of factors driving this change, but I believe the improving real estate market is a key component.”
Palm Beach County saw an increase in the number of deeds recorded in November, compared with the previous year, while the number of mortgages recorded declined.
There were 5,310 deeds recorded in Palm Beach County during November, a 22.3 percent increase from the 4,343 deeds recorded in November 2012, but a 16.8 percent decrease from 6,384 deeds recorded in October 2013.
There also were 2,484 mortgages recorded in November, a 20.7 decrease from 3,134 mortgages recorded in October, and a 13.3 percent decrease from 2,866 decrease in mortgages recorded in November 2012.
There were 793 properties sold during November’s online foreclosure auctions, according to statistics from Grant Street Group, the facilitator of ClerkAuction. Of those, 620 were sold back to the plaintiff — typically a bank or mortgage company — in the foreclosure proceeding, and 173 were sold to a third party.
There were 483 sales canceled in November, out of 1,277 scheduled for sale. The cancellation rate was 37.8 percent, compared with 35.6 percent in October.
Bock’s office is the keeper of Palm Beach County’s official records, and records all deeds and mortgages submitted for recording in Palm Beach County. Learn more at www.mypalmbeachclerk.com.
