Cities where zombies (foreclosures, that is) are still lurking
They’re the housing market menace that won’t seem to go away – homes abandoned by their owners, not yet taken over by the banks. Even now, well into a two-year recovery in home prices, there remain 141,406 “zombie foreclosures,” according to data firm RealtyTrac.
That’s down 16% from a year ago nationwide, which sounds pretty good. Still, zombie foreclosures increased this quarter in 10 states plus D.C. The problem is particularly persistent in some regions—Florida accounts for more than one-third of all zombies—where upwards of 30% and even 40% of foreclosures are vacant.
Metropolitan areas (keep in mind, these are generally much larger regions than cities themselves) with the highest percentage of vacant foreclosures, reports RealtyTrac:
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