Staff Report

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) offers a free, statewide assistance program designed to help homeowners facing foreclosure in the state. The Foreclosure Counseling Program (FCP) provides one-on-one, face- to-face counseling and financial education services to Florida families at risk of losing their homes in Florida. Free services are provided in all 67 Florida counties by approved local housing counseling agencies and to participating homeowners.

Florida had the highest number of completed foreclosures nationally over the last year, according to a September report re- leased by CoreLogic, a leading provider of consumer, financial and analytics to business and government. In the last 12 months, Florida had the most completed foreclosures in the nation with 57,000 in total.

“Foreclosure is still an issue facing thou- sands of homeowners in every county of our state,” said Florida Housing Communications Director Cecka Rose Green. “As a participant in the FCP, homeowners can expect to receive extensive housing and financial counseling services that can help them save their homes and become more financially stable.

”In 2013, the Florida Legislature allocated $10 million from the state’s National Mortgage Settlement funds to implement the program. More than 40 agencies statewide are available to assist interested homeowners. For more information about the pro- gram, including a list of participating agencies, homeowners can visit www.FloridaHousing.org.

MARKET SUMMARY
The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC )Foreclosure Counseling Program, funded in 2013, gives at-risk home owners state wide the education and guidance they need to help prevent foreclosure. Services are provided through trained and approved local housing counseling agencies to ensure homeowners in each of the 67 counties in Florida has an opportunity to receive assistance.

MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS NUMBER OF FORECLOSURES
Florida continues to have a very high number of foreclosures according to a September 2016 report released by Core Logic, a national research firm specializing in real estate data. The top five(5) metro areas in Florida with the highest foreclosure rates in the second quarter of 2016 are as fol- lows:

METRO AREA
Miami/ Ft.Lauderdale/ West Palm 9,603
Tampa/ St.Petersburg/ Clearwater 6,198
Orlando/ Kissimmee/ Sanford 3,175
Jacksonville Lakeland/ Winter Haven 2,667
1,439