Even as the housing market is finally starting to drag itself up from the bottom, Florida is still leading the nation in the number of foreclosures being filed.  Unfortunately, this has the effect of suppressing the housing market recovery in areas with high numbers of these bank-owned properties.  With banks selling on the cheap to cash buyers (many of them international investors), the foreclosure market has had a huge impact on real estate prices in many areas throughout the state.  And this doesn’t even take into account the “shadow inventory” of upcoming foreclosures that have yet to be released into the market.  In the next couple of years, this shadow inventory is expected to bring a cooling effect to the rebound that some areas have been experiencing.

Florida still leads US in foreclosures

‘Shadow Inventory’ is growing