Florida's foreclosure backlog down 30%

Florida courts have a backlog of 322,724 foreclosure cases, even after a 30 percent decline in pending cases from June, according to a report released by the state's court system today. The report wasn't supposed to come out until April, but the state requested it earlier in order to frame its discussions about the budget. Foreclosure filings have experienced a major drop-off this year after many lenders temporarily froze proceedings after acknowledging problems with their paperwork, and the decline is expected to create a $72 million deficit this year. Last year, state lawmakers approved $9.6 million in funding for new court hires to help clear the backlog of foreclosure cases.