December another strong month for Tampa Bay area foreclosures

Foreclosures dropped in every county except Sarasota in December in what could be a sign of stabilization in the key housing market sector. Hillsborough County had the highest number of foreclosure filings in December, according to a new report from RealtyTrac Inc., with 2,539, or one in every 203 homes. That was flat from November but down more than 15 percent from the year before. Manatee County had the biggest year-over-year drop. Its 806 filings were down nearly 42 percent from December 2008 and 10 percent from November. Its rate of one in every 210 homes facing foreclosure was just behind Hillsborough’s. Pinellas County had a big fall as well, dropping nearly 27 percent from the previous year to 1,675 filings, representing one in every 298 homes. That was down 23 percent from the month before. Other drops came from Pasco County at 19.2 percent, Hernando County at 13.5 percent and just under 1 percent for Polk County.

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