Bank Owned Foreclosures Surged in Atlanta As Unemployment Rate Rises

Published on September 9, 2010 by Andy · No Comments

The number of postings for bank owned foreclosures and other type of foreclosed properties rose by 59% in Atlanta, Georgia between July and August 2010. The total number of households that have received a notice of foreclosure jumped to 13,130 in August from 8,264 in July.

According to analysts, majority of these notices are due to job losses, unlike previous years when foreclosure troubles are more often associated with fraudulent mortgage lending practices. They further added that more than half of Atlanta foreclosed homes owners were unable to pay their mortgages because of lay offs or salary cuts.

The city would have been an ideal place for people who purchase repossessed houses for sale, but even with the low prices and record mortgage rates, homebuyers are opting not to make any purchase, foreclosure or otherwise. This symbolizes the unsteady condition of the housing market, not only in Atlanta, but in the rest of the country as evident in the latest national housing statistics.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, one household out of 10 in the U.S. is in danger of losing their home to bank owned foreclosures before the year ends. This prediction is expected to come to fruition unless more jobs are created and unemployment rates are lowered to reasonable levels.

As evidence of how bad unemployment has influenced the number of bank and Fannie Mae foreclosures all around the country, housing market figures showed that 9.9% of borrowers all over the U.S. are at least 30 days delayed in their mortgage payment as of June 30, 2010. The latest estimate hardly differs from the over 10% figure recorded as of April 30, 2010.

Meanwhile, the considerable rise in the number of foreclosure notices in Atlanta, as reported by Equity Depot, signifies how bad the economy is in the metro Georgia region. Although only about 25% of the Atlanta properties under foreclosure listings during August have made it to the steps of courthouses for an auction sale, the increase is still worrisome for most local real estate analysts.

According to them, almost all economic indicators are conspiring to feed government and bank owned foreclosures problems in the city. With the prices of homes continuing to drop and unemployment rates showing no sign of declining, analysts stated that the metro area is in for a rough 2010.

Bank Owned Foreclosures Surged in Atlanta As Unemployment Rate Rises is a post from: News of Foreclosures – Read more about how does foreclosure work.