Foreclosures down slightly in Marion
Ocala's median home price plunges 23.4%
Last Modified: Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 11:26 p.m.
The number of new foreclosure filings in January dipped 10 percent nationally - and 3 percent in Marion County - compared with December numbers.
But the ease in foreclosures didn't come soon enough: For the fourth quarter of 2009, the median price for an existing home in the Ocala metro area was 23.4 percent lower than it was during the same period in 2008.
It was the largest percentage drop of any metro area in the nation. Right behind was Las Vegas, which saw its median home price drop 23.3 percent.
The median home price in Ocala plunged to $93,200, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Realtors say foreclosures drive down home values and can lead to blight when the properties are neglected or abandoned.
The Realtors association said the median sales price rose in 67 of 151 (44 percent) of the nation's metropolitan areas in the October-December quarter. In the third quarter, prices rose in only 20 percent of cities.
The national median price was $172,900, or 4.1 percent below the fourth quarter of 2008.
RealtyTrac reported Thursday that Marion County saw 784 foreclosures last month, compared with 807 in December. The statistic includes foreclosure and default notices, bank repossessions, and foreclosure auction notices.
The latest RealtyTrac report indicates that one in every 197 Marion County homes received a foreclosure notice. The total number of county properties in the foreclosure process is 6,226.
The metro area with the highest foreclosure rate in January was Las Vegas, with one in every 82 homes receiving a foreclosure filing, followed by Phoenix and the California cities of Modesto and Stockton.
Nationwide, 315,716 households received a foreclosure-related notice in January, or one in every 409 homes.
RealtyTrac Inc., an online Web site that analyzes foreclosure trends, said even though foreclosure filings decreased throughout the country, they were still about 15 percent higher than the same time a year ago.
Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida posted the top foreclosure rates in January. The most were in California, with 71,817 new January filings.
RealtyTrac cautioned that the numbers would likely increase over the next few months.
In Florida, there were 47,069 new foreclosure filings, with the hardest hit counties being Broward, with 7,677 new listings; and Miami-Dade, with 4,628.
In Florida, one in every 185 homes is in the foreclosure process. Currently, there are 297,367 foreclosed homes on Florida. In Marion County, there are 4,318. The average price of a foreclosed Marion County home is $94,265.
This story includes information from The Associated Press. Contact Fred Hiers at 867-4157 or fred.hiers@starbanner.com.
Foreclosures: Florida, Nev., Ariz. have highest rates
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