Fewer Tampa Bay area foreclosures don't necessarily indicate a recovery; banks are just filing less

Foreclosure filings fell last month in Tampa Bay, but the drop isn't much to clap about.

Initial foreclosure notices fell by nearly 10 percent in the bay area in January compared to December. Lenders delivered notices to 3,497 homeowners, according to a RealtyTrac report released today.

Statewide, the filing activity dropped 15 percent last month. But compared to January 2010, the numbers plummeted nearly 54 percent in Florida and 42 percent in the bay area.

Nationally, foreclosure activity inched upward 1 percent last month, but fell 17 percent from January 2010. Last month was the third consecutive month with fewer than 300,000 properties receiving foreclosure filings across the country, following 20 straight months exceeding 300,000, RealtyTrac reported.

The research firm attributed the year-over-year drop to the foreclosure moratorium that several lenders imposed on themselves temporarily in the fall, amid allegations that thousands of documents were signed improperly.

James J. Saccacio, head of RealtyTrac, is cautious about a rebound.

"Unfortunately this is less a sign of a robust housing recovery and more a sign that lenders have become bogged down in reviewing procedures, resubmitting paperwork and formulating legal arguments related to accusations of improper foreclosure processing," he said.

Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner doesn't think the housing market is gaining much momentum. First-quarter figures, he said, will provide a better indicator to determine if a recovery is near.

Vitner said the bank moratorium is still impacting the foreclosure figures, adding: "I'm afraid they're going to pick back up again before they fall for good."

One number in the report provided good news for the Sunshine State. No Florida cities ranked in the top 20 for metro foreclosure rates in January. The state had nine of the top spots in 2010.

Peter Murphy, president of Tampa's Home Encounter, said the decrease needs to extend many more months to impact the housing market.

"It's a glimmer of good news, but we're a long way off from a recovery," he said.

A recovery cannot occur without a reduction in the number of foreclosure and short sales, he added. The figure is up more than 18 percent, Murphy said.

Five states — California, Florida, Arizona, Texas and Michigan — accounted for 51 percent of all foreclosure activity in January.

Mark Puente can be reached at mpuente@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8459. Twitter at twitter.com/markapuente.