Palm Beach County’s new foreclosures up 7 percent from previous month
New foreclosures in Palm Beach County were up slightly in July, and up nearly 38 percent from the same time period the previous year, when new requirements for foreclosure cases took effect throughout Florida. There were 533 new cases in July, a 7.2 percent increase from 497 cases filed in June and a 37.7 percent increase from 387 cases filed in July 2013, according to the latest statistics from the Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County. In 2013, the Florida Legislature passed a law that required plaintiffs to acknowledge in their foreclosure complaint that they have all the documents necessary to prove the case against the homeowner. The law took effect July 1, 2013, and had a significant impact on new foreclosure filings throughout Florida. “After the requirements for plaintiffs in foreclosure filings became law, we saw a substantial decrease in new foreclosure cases,” Clerk Sharon Bock said. “That change in the law happened as Palm Beach County’s real estate market continued to grow stronger, and the combination helped cut new foreclosures in half.”
Mortgages/Deeds Recorded
The number of mortgages and deeds recorded in Palm Beach County increased in July. There were 6,714 deeds recorded in July, a 6.27 percent increase from 6,318 deeds recorded in June, but a 3.9 percent decrease from 6,985 deeds recorded in July 2013. There were 3,460 mortgages recorded in July, a 14 percent increase from 3,036 mortgages recorded in June, but a 20.6 percent decrease from 4,358 mortgages recorded in July 2013. The Clerk’s office holds all of Palm Beach County’s official records, and records all deeds and mortgages submitted for recording in Palm Beach County.
Foreclosure Sales Results
There were 795 properties sold at foreclosure auction in July, 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 175 were sold to a third party.
There were 410 foreclosure sales canceled in July, out of 1,205 scheduled for sale. The cancellation rate was 34 percent, compared with 34.6 percent in June
