Condo Vultures: S. Fla. REOs a ‘mixed bag’ - South Florida Business Journal:

Sixteen percent more South Florida properties were repossessed in the third quarter of this year than were repossessed during the same time period in 2008, according to a new report by Condo Vultures LLC.

If that pace continues, there could be nearly 29,000 South Florida homes repossessed by the end of the year. That would be a 9 percent increase over 2008, when 26,240 homes were taken back by lenders, according to the report that is compiled using court records.

"On one hand, the number of REOs will continue to rise in unison with the number of foreclosure actions - on pace for nearly 100,000 in 2009 - being filed in South Florida," Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour-based real estate consultancy, said in a news release. "On the other hand, the pool of buyers for REOs is extremely deep in South Florida, despite the challenges of obtaining financing in today's market."

The number of REOs depends on where you are in the tri-county area, noted Zalewski.

Broward County experienced a 54 percent spike in repossessions in the third quarter to 4,033, up from 2,624 in the third quarter of 2008.

For the year, there have been 10,523 REOs in Broward, up 43 percent from the 7,370 experienced in the same period last year.

On the other hand, Palm Beach County realized 10 percent decrease in REOs in the third quarter to 1,075, from 1,190 during the same time in 2008.

For the year, REOs in Palm Beach County are up by 2 percent to 3,000 from 2,934 a year ago.

The number of REOs in Miami-Dade County fell by 5 percent in the third quarter to 3,132 from 3,286 during the same time in 2008. In the first nine months of 2009, Miami-Dade's REO total was 8,020, down 7 percent from the same period in 2008 when there were 8,656 REOs.

Short of government intervention or an immediate economic recovery, the number of REOs in South Florida is likely to continue growing as the number of foreclosures actions continues upward, Zalewski predicts.