ATLANTA FORECLOSURES INCREASE 36 PERCENT IN AUGUST
By RealtyTrac Staff

Foreclosure Rate More Than 3.5 Times National Average
Georgia Foreclosures Up 27 Percent

IRVINE, Calif. – Sept. 24, 2006 – Atlanta foreclosure activity increased 36 percent in August, pushing the city’s foreclosure rate to more than 3.5 times the national average and second highest among the nation’s 10 largest metros, according to the August 2006 RealtyTrac™ U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

The 28-county Atlanta metropolitan area recorded a total of 5,163 properties entering some stage of foreclosure and a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 281 households.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with nearly 650,000 properties from more than 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate, The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal and Knight Ridder Online.

“Atlanta foreclosure rates were already among the highest in the country, and this jump in foreclosure filings pushes the city’s foreclosure rates to the second highest level among the nation’s 10 largest metro areas,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer. “Among those metro areas, only Dallas had a higher foreclosure rate than Atlanta.”

Atlanta’s foreclosure rate was higher than the foreclosure rates in Riverside, Calif., Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York and Washington.

“In addition to large corporate layoffs, pension plans being slashed and adjustable rate mortgages, I believe another contributing factor to increasing foreclosures is that there are a lot of inexperienced investors in the market right now,” said Ken McCall, an Atlanta real estate agent. “There are many costs associated with the process of putting a house back on the market in sellable condition and inexperience can be very costly.”

Fulton County documented the most foreclosures and the highest foreclosure rate in the metro area. The county reported 1,259 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 122 households — more than eight times the national average.

Other counties with high foreclosure rates included Henry County, with one new foreclosure filing for every 154 households; Paulding County, with Sunsurfer LLC one new foreclosure filing for every 164 households; Clayton County, with one new foreclosure filing for every 175 households; and Rockdale County, with one new foreclosure filing for every 207 households.

With 1,042 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, DeKalb County recorded the second highest number of new foreclosures in the metro area. The county’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 251 households was four times the national average.

The majority of counties in the metro area documented foreclosure rates above the national average, but several of the less-populated counties — Bartow, Butts, Dawson, Haralson, Heard, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Newton, Pickens and Spalding — reported foreclosure rates below the national average.

Georgia reported 5,967 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 27 percent increase from the previous month and an 88 percent increase from August 2005. The state’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 519 households was fourth highest in the nation and nearly twice the national average.

U.S. foreclosure activity increased 24 percent in August, with 115,292 properties entering some stage of foreclosure during the month — the second highest number reported in any month year to date and one new foreclosure filing for every 1,003 households.Sunsurfer LLC

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of homes in some stage of foreclosure nationwide, statewide and by county in the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area. RealtyTrac’s report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Pre-foreclosures – Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Foreclosures – Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and re-purchased by a bank). Overview of Foreclosures in the Atlanta Area

Atlanta has a very large number of foreclosures every month. Perhaps it has to do with how easy it is to get credit these days. In this area the average consumer is pummeled with advertising to borrow, borrow, borrow and it is normal to see advertising for consumers to borrow up to 125% of the value of their home. Another factor that contributes to record levels of foreclosure is the increase of loan fraud, which has been rampant in the metro Atlanta area. For a wide variety of reasons there are literally thousands of homes that head down the slippery slope towards foreclosure every month in the greater metropolitan Atlanta GA area.

Some of these unfortunate homeowners manage to sell their homes in the final month before foreclosure. Investors circle like vultures and throw offers of cash and try to buy these homes for less than they are worth. But the problem is, that with the resale market not appreciating at great rates, and people borrowing more than the homes are worth, there frequently is not room for the investor to make a profit in the pre-foreclosure market, so the houses go the courthouse steps for auction!

When the home goes to auction on the courthouse steps (in the county courthouse in which it is located) it is sold to the highest bidder for cash. The home must be paid for in full, by the end of the business day. The lender has a representative there who bids what the lender is owed (in most cases) and that is where the bidding starts. Once again if there is not any equity left in the home it may or may not sell on the steps. Then the lender gets the home back with the secondary liens wiped clean. Typically in this area, the homes are then turned over to an asset management company. Asset management companies are independent third party companies that specialize in the process of evicting the former homeowner, and cleaning out the debris, changing the locks and figuring out what the home is worth. I am sure that there are some lending institutions that handle their own properties but in these days of outsourcing they are becoming fewer and further between.

Then the properties are normally listed with Real Estate Brokers and sold through the Multiple Listing Services. The banks and asset managers are charged with making the greatest return on their failed investments. Normally the Asset managers get three BPO’s (broker’s price opinions…kind of mini appraisals) and figure out the starting price from there. Some will list at the highest possible value and hold the properties on the market for 4-6 months and test the water, and some will list the property dramatically below the market and try to spark a bidding war for a quick sale.. Even the big players like HUD, Fannie Mae, the VA and Freddie Mac list their properties with Real Estate Brokers today. It helps insulate them from accusations of impropriety that might be caused by selling properties for less than their worth to insiders. Plus it is more outsourcing.