Almost a third of homeowners in metro Atlanta and more than a quarter in Georgia were underwater in their mortgages during the third quarter, according to CoreLogic.
In Atlanta, 31.9 percent, or 392,261, of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity. Another 7.5 percent, or 92,773, were in near negative equity, CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) reported. A borrower is in negative equity if he or she owes more on the mortgage than the home is worth.
In Georgia, 28 percent, or 449,971, mortgages were underwater during the third quarter, CoreLogic said. This compares with 28.1 percent, or 449,969, in the second quarter. CoreLogic said 10.8 million, or 22.5 percent, of all American residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of the third quarter of 2010, down from 11 million and 23 percent in the second quarter. This is due mostly to foreclosures of severely negative equity properties rather than an increase in home values.
Negative equity remains concentrated in five states: Nevada, which had the highest negative equity percentage with 67 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (49 percent), Florida (46 percent), Michigan (38 percent) and California (32 percent).
The article is posted HERE
The foreclosure trend in Atlanta hit a new high in 2010 and I can’t see anything improving in 2011. Foreclosure notices in metro Atlanta fell 30 percent in December from a record level in November, according to data released Monday by Equity Depot. But that was impacted by the “robo-signing” issues, don’t look for major decreases anytime soon.
For all of 2010, a new record of 127,140 notices was set, eclipsing last year’s record by 8.6 percent, Equity Depot said. Foreclosure notices this year were 60 percent greater than they were in 2008.
“With decreased property values and continued high unemployment in Georgia, it’s hard to forecast any decline for 2011,” Barry Bramlett, president of Alpharetta-based Equity Depot, said in an email to the AJC.
Foreclosure notices of sale published this month are for auctions set for next month.
For December, there were 9,703 notices in the metro area. That’s down from November’s record of 13,834, but still very high. It may be instructive to look at the entire fourth quarter of the year for a more accurate picture of what’s been happening lately. That’s because one month’s numbers may be artificially distorted since some lenders imposed a short moratorium on foreclosures to investigate internal paperwork problems.
For the fourth quarter, notices were up 18 percent when compared with the same period last year. For all of 2010, Gwinnett surpassed Fulton as the leading county for foreclosure actions in Georgia with 26,502 notices, Equity Depot said. Fulton ended up with 24,446 notices, followed by DeKalb with 19,307. Cobb was fourth with 15,000 notices, followed by Clayton with 10,451.
Unsaid in all of this is the significant shadow inventory of bank owned unlisted inventory…and that’s an entirely different topic. So who expects a big turnaround for 2011?
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Hank Miller is an Associate Broker & Certified Appraiser with over 23 years of experience. He specializes in the north Atlanta real estate market which includes Alpharetta, Marietta, Roswell, Kennesaw, Sandy Springs and surrounding areas. Hank can be reached anytime at 678-428-8276 or EMAIL Hank
January 16, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Hank, I always appreciate your quantitative prespective on real estate. Always numbers to back things up! This being said, I’m not sure that Georgia is any worse off compared to the rest of the 44 U.S. states not mentioned in your post. Here in Minnesota, we certainly have our fair share of underwater mortgages and foreclosures, as I’m sure is the case for most of us out there. Thanks again for the informative post!