According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, (1) an incredible one in ten mortgages in the USA are now one month or more behind in their mortgage, or in foreclosure. This was up 7.3% from a year earlier.
Florida continues to share the brunt of the foreclosure crisis (look up by zip code here(1A)). The statistics specific to the metro Orlando vacation home market are difficult to assess, but they do appear to be on the front line of the foreclosure crisis.
USA unemployment has surged losing 533,000 jobs in November (2) alone. This was the most in 34 years. The unemployment rate also increased to 6.7% according to the labor department. Many economists are predicting a 8+/-% unemployment rate nationwide (3) by mid 2009.
Unemployment is also hitting Florida hard, especially in markets such as Orlando where the hospitality industry has been laying off thousands of employees (4). In addition, metro Orlando has begun to see systemic drops in the number of tourists visiting the area in November 2008 (5) .
There are rumors major Orlando hospitality employers may be making larg cut backs in January 2009 which may only add to the overall local economic problem.
It would seem the only good news about the Orlando economic correction is the fact that tourists can get great deals renting Orlando vacation homes and hotels alike. Eventually the market will correct itself as it always does, but Orlando’s pain is now a big gain for those tourists seeking great value.
