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AP Photo/Tony Dejak
The Tampa Bay area is making it’s mark on the housing crisis scene, but not in a good way. According to Realty Trac, Tampa ranks 5th in the nation for foreclosures. That is up 31.5% over the same period last year.
In the formerly hot housing market of Hernando County, just north of the Bay area, the numbers are staggering.
In the central part of the County, one out of every 39 homes got a foreclosure notice in the first 6 months of 2009. In some areas the ratio is even higher.
Currently, there are 2,758 homes in foreclosure. But that does not include those in pre-foreclosure and others that are for sale. Add all those up and you have an unfathomable number - nearly 7000 homes in trouble.
According to the monthly census report for the county, there are 70,849 permanent residents. That means that approximately ten percent of the year-round population is dealing with the loss of their home. Making matters worse is the decline in home values, which is generally between 29% and 39%.
With the largest percentage of the population in the 35-54 year old group, and local unemployment at 13.1%, the future looks like a hard road for too many families.
The appeal of Tampa and it’s surrounding suburbs was its afford ability. If local governments want to revive that concept and lead the way out of the housing crisis, they are going to have to cut property taxes, and attract businesses that will bring jobs that pay more than minimum wage.
It’s not impossible. But it’s going to take a lot a people making a lot of phone calls to their County Commissioners to get it done. A few are up for re-election next year. If they don’t get their act together, they may find themselves at the front of the unemployment line.
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