Foreclosure sales and foreclosure filings are down in Lee County through the first quarter of 2010, according to a report released Wednesday by RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, and information from the Clerk of Courts office.
Lee is down nearly 3 percent from the final quarter of 2009, with an average sales price of $94,656.
However, Lee County is still one of the leading counties in foreclosure sales in Florida through the first quarter, trailing only Broward County, but ahead of Miami-Dade and Orange counties, with 3,982 foreclosure sales.
Much like Lee’s place in the statewide picture, Florida still ranks high among the nation’s locales for high numbers of foreclosures through the first quarter of this year.
Florida follows only California, Nevada and Arizona as the nation’s leading foreclosure states, but posted a nearly 3 percent decrease from the final quarter of 2009.
Foreclosure filings took another dip in May 2010 in Lee County — 830 were filed in May, down from 1,801 in May, 2009, and down considerably from 2,352 in May, 2008.
Wendy McCabe from the Clerk of Courts Office said April 2010 was the first time in three years the county saw fewer than a thousand foreclosure filings.
She said that while the new foreclosure sale website has not effected the number of foreclosure sales overall, a new version of the “rocket docket” is scheduled for July.
“The website is not affecting the number of sales,” Mosely said, adding “Sales aren’t up but they will be going up when they start this new docket.”
Lee County Clerk of Courts Charlie Green was unavailable for comment.
Paula Hellenbrand from Encore Realty, and former president of the Association of Cape Coral Realtors, also could not be reached for comment.
For more information visit realtytrac.com.