Metro Orlando Ranks Second in the US for Underwater Mortgages
Thursday, January 9, 2014
By: Nicole Creston

January 9th, 2014 | WMFE - A new report says Orlando has one of the nation's highest rates of homes with seriously underwater mortgages.

The research firm RealtyTrac said Thursday that 36 percent of mortgaged homes in the Orlando metro area are deeply underwater. That’s higher than the state’s average of 34 percent – just over a third of residential properties.

RealtyTrac designates a property as “deeply underwater” if it’s worth 25 percent less than the value of the loans associated with it.

In a state-by-state analysis, Florida was second only to Nevada in the number of deeply underwater homes.

Three Florida cities are in the top five on RealtyTrac’s list of the country’s major metropolitan areas with the financially-distressed properties. Orlando ranks number two, followed by Tampa at number four and Miami at number five.