Atlanta foreclosure lists for the scheduled December public auction ebbed slightly compared to postings for the November auction, but the number of homes listed was still high, based on a report from Equity Depot, which tracks properties posted for the monthly public auctions in metro Atlanta.
For the December auction, a total of 9,427 homes were posted, increasing the total number of foreclosure postings since January to almost 107,000. Total foreclosure filings in November dropped by 1.3 percent compared to postings in October and down by 24 percent compared to the record-high figure in September.
But total postings in November were still higher by 40 percent than postings in November last year, higher by 80 percent than November 2007 and higher by 146 percent than November 2006.
Barry Bramlett, head of Equity Depot, said that unemployment forced people out of homes over the past months. With the unemployment rate hitting 10.5 percent in metro Atlanta, a lot of homeowners were not able to keep their homes despite efforts by nonprofits to help them under the Home Affordable Modification Program.
Bramlett also contended that the number of homes in Atlanta foreclosure lists for the December public auction could have been higher if lenders pursued their foreclosure proceedings on all defaulting properties. He believes that many lenders have delayed foreclosure actions on many delinquent mortgage loans, particularly for properties located in areas ignored by buyers.
Meanwhile, Alan Wexler, head of Databank Atlanta, said that foreclosures are not only rising in the residential sector. Over the past months, defaults have been piling up in the commercial real estate sector. He added that commercial foreclosures will soar next year.
In another report released by Radar Logic, it was shown that Atlanta was among 25 cities in the U.S. where foreclosure sales increased by an average of 27 percent from the middle of August to the middle of September. The percentage of foreclosure sales also rose from 21 percent of overall sales to 26 percent.
Along with Atlanta, the significant rise in foreclosure sales also occurred in Miami, Detroit, Las Vegas and Phoenix. A large majority of foreclosed homes sold or 67 percent of all foreclosure sales occurred in lower-income neighborhoods or in zip codes where the median home sales price is in bottom levels.
According to Radar Logic, the composite home price fell sharply in September because of the rise in distressed and foreclosure sales.
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