Foreclosure rates remain high in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida continues to post one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation.

In July, Florida recorded more than 21,000 filings for foreclosure -- second only to California.

For the year to date, Florida has had more than 111,000 filings and analysts predict the troubling trend will continue another 12 to 18 months.

The Florida Bankers Association blames much of the problem on adjustable-rate, subprime mortgages that were available in recent years.

Spokesman Alex Sanchez says that kind of creative financing often went to people with weak credit.

Sanchez says too many people got into homes that were over their heads and they should not have been given credit in the first place.

Nationwide, there have been more than 600,000 foreclosure filings this year.

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