From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Michelle E. Shaw)
November provided good news in several forms for metro Atlanta's troubled housing market, including the first year-over-year increase in the price of existing single-family homes sold since at least 2008, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The 2 percent increase for the region, from $126,300 in November 2008 to $129,300 last month, bucked the national trend, which saw a 4 percent drop in sales price.
Steve Palm, president of Marietta-based SmartNumbers, called the price increase "the kind of improvement that you want to see."
“And there’s more good news: Locally, price was flat for all housing types sold in November,” Palm said.
Another area that saw marked improvement was sales, which improved 33 percent over November 2008, according to the Realtors’ data.
Palm said closings in metro Atlanta on new and existing single-family homes set a record for the greatest year-to-year percentage increase since 1995, when record keeping began.
“Our housing industry had been down for 13 consecutive quarters, but it is a very good bet that fourth quarter 2009 will have a year-to-year increase for all single-family closings,” he said.
Nationally, the price of an existing single-family home for November was $171,900, down from 179,900 the year before.
Though the November national median price of an existing single-family home has yet to catch up with that of a year ago, sales have skyrocketed. The number of homes sold improved 42 percent over November 2008, the data revealed. Adding in townhomes, condos and co-ops, existing home sales improved 44 percent over the same period last year.
The boost in sales is largely attributed to the original deadline of the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, industry analysts say. That program, which provided an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, was set to expire in November. It has since been extended to June 30 and now includes a $6,500 credit for repeat buyers.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors association, said the rise was expected. He also expects to see a drop in sales before spring.
“We expect a temporary sales drop while buying activity ramps up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010,” he said in a news release.
A survey conducted by the Realtors association shows first-time buyers purchased 51 percent of homes in November, a slight improvement from 50 percent of transactions in October, the release said.
Tax appraisers have not kept up with the collapse in property values in parts of metro Atlanta, which means many homeowners are being taxed on value their property no longer holds.
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Call us at 770.481.0052 or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net when you're ready to refinance or purchase an Atlanta-area home.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Developer 'Games' the Condo Market
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Michelle E. Shaw)
The developers of Sky Lofts are taking a page from a popular game show and video game to sell condos.
Russell New Urban Development, the development arm of H.J. Russell & Co., plans to hold a “Deal or No Deal” event at two of its properties this weekend, with hopes of moving dozens of units.
“You always want to close a year out as strong as possible,” said Edrick Harris, senior development manager for the Russell. “It is also us trying to help people take advantage of the program that are still out there, if they’re interested in buying a home.”
End-of-the-year sales are generally slow in real estate, where the peak season tends to be summertime, industry experts say. And this year, with all of the woes the Atlanta housing market has faced, things have been slower than usual, said Morris Kaplan, developer of The Cosmopolitan in Lindbergh.
Condo sales have been spotty this year, to say the least. An oversupply of units, coupled with the national credit crunch contributed heavily to Atlanta’s struggling housing market. The second and third quarters of the year saw many developers scrambling to lower prices on units, while still hoping to turn a profit. Earlier in the year a handful of developers even used auctions as a tool to sell brand new units.
After a successful auction at The Cosmo, Kaplan said he now only has a few units left. He thought an end-of-year promotion would help take the remaining units off his hands.
“The inventory of what we have left is higher priced, in the mid- and high-200s, so a little inducement helps there,” he said. “We also increased our broker commission, so they’re a little more motivated.”
He said perspective buyers can get between $9,000 and $12,000 that can be applied toward such things as appliances or home owner association fees.
“You just want to sell out the community, if possible,” he said. “Besides, there’s also no benefit to sitting on the units, so why not sell them if we can.”
Harris said the Russell New Urban Development team had the same idea.
This weekend interested buyers will be able to visit Sky Lofts, in the West End and Historic Westside Village, off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and negotiate a deal directly with the decision makers, he said.
“You could conceivably walk in and within 30 minutes have a fully executed contract,” he said. “And we really plan to work with people.”
Selected units, with a current market value from $210,00 to $125,00 will be up for discussion, Harris said.
Not every developer depends of end-of-year promotions to move units, however.
Cousins Properties, developer of 10 Terminus Place in Buckhead, said it has nine contracts this month, without special incentives.
According to the company, the 32-story luxury condominium tower has sold more than $18.7 million in condos since Aug.
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new condo in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
The developers of Sky Lofts are taking a page from a popular game show and video game to sell condos.
Russell New Urban Development, the development arm of H.J. Russell & Co., plans to hold a “Deal or No Deal” event at two of its properties this weekend, with hopes of moving dozens of units.
“You always want to close a year out as strong as possible,” said Edrick Harris, senior development manager for the Russell. “It is also us trying to help people take advantage of the program that are still out there, if they’re interested in buying a home.”
End-of-the-year sales are generally slow in real estate, where the peak season tends to be summertime, industry experts say. And this year, with all of the woes the Atlanta housing market has faced, things have been slower than usual, said Morris Kaplan, developer of The Cosmopolitan in Lindbergh.
Condo sales have been spotty this year, to say the least. An oversupply of units, coupled with the national credit crunch contributed heavily to Atlanta’s struggling housing market. The second and third quarters of the year saw many developers scrambling to lower prices on units, while still hoping to turn a profit. Earlier in the year a handful of developers even used auctions as a tool to sell brand new units.
After a successful auction at The Cosmo, Kaplan said he now only has a few units left. He thought an end-of-year promotion would help take the remaining units off his hands.
“The inventory of what we have left is higher priced, in the mid- and high-200s, so a little inducement helps there,” he said. “We also increased our broker commission, so they’re a little more motivated.”
He said perspective buyers can get between $9,000 and $12,000 that can be applied toward such things as appliances or home owner association fees.
“You just want to sell out the community, if possible,” he said. “Besides, there’s also no benefit to sitting on the units, so why not sell them if we can.”
Harris said the Russell New Urban Development team had the same idea.
This weekend interested buyers will be able to visit Sky Lofts, in the West End and Historic Westside Village, off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and negotiate a deal directly with the decision makers, he said.
“You could conceivably walk in and within 30 minutes have a fully executed contract,” he said. “And we really plan to work with people.”
Selected units, with a current market value from $210,00 to $125,00 will be up for discussion, Harris said.
Not every developer depends of end-of-year promotions to move units, however.
Cousins Properties, developer of 10 Terminus Place in Buckhead, said it has nine contracts this month, without special incentives.
According to the company, the 32-story luxury condominium tower has sold more than $18.7 million in condos since Aug.
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new condo in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Metro Area's Industrial Development Still Lagging
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Gertha Coffee)
The stockpile of empty industrial facilities in metro Atlanta was hardly dented this year, despite some recent large transactions.
Illinois-based Kraft Foods Co. inked a deal this month for a nearly 1 million-square-foot, warehouse and distribution facility in south Fulton. That deal followed an earlier announcement by Dendreon Corp., a Seattle-based biotechnology company, that it will build a 155,000-square-foot plant in south Fulton.
But the companies are building new facilities, so the deals won't take any vacant property off metro Atlanta's sluggish industrial market, which has lost more than 5 million square feet of industrial occupancy during the course of the economic downturn, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
That includes 3.5 million square feet this year, the commercial real estate services company reported in its third quarter overview of the industrial sector.
It will take several quarters of improvement to translate into net new demand for industrial real estate, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, as businesses continue to cut back.
Although leading indicators like manufacturing and retail spending appear to be picking up, job creation and consumer confidence lag.
“Looking forward to 2010, the industrial market is probably going to have a little rougher recovery,” said Lanie Rea, research manager for Jones Lang LaSalle in Atlanta. “One of the problems is it’s very heavily manufacturing and construction-oriented. Since the start of the downturn, the construction industry has sort of dwindled away. Companies have gone bankrupt and severely downsized.
"In 2010, we will see stabilization as consumer confidence will start to come back and demand for product will grow," she said. "But how long that will take is anybody’s guess.”
Industrial property sales in Atlanta for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, the most recent data available, totaled $328 million vs. $1.3 billion for the prior 12-month period, according to LoopNet, an online commercial real estate listings service.
Statewide, Georgia Power has seen year-to-date industrial sales down 12.4 percent for the first three quarters of the year, compared with the same period in 2008, said spokeswoman Christy Ihrig.
"We're expecting 2010 will be better than this year," she said,"not booming, but better than the sales we got this year."
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new home in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
The stockpile of empty industrial facilities in metro Atlanta was hardly dented this year, despite some recent large transactions.
Illinois-based Kraft Foods Co. inked a deal this month for a nearly 1 million-square-foot, warehouse and distribution facility in south Fulton. That deal followed an earlier announcement by Dendreon Corp., a Seattle-based biotechnology company, that it will build a 155,000-square-foot plant in south Fulton.
But the companies are building new facilities, so the deals won't take any vacant property off metro Atlanta's sluggish industrial market, which has lost more than 5 million square feet of industrial occupancy during the course of the economic downturn, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
That includes 3.5 million square feet this year, the commercial real estate services company reported in its third quarter overview of the industrial sector.
It will take several quarters of improvement to translate into net new demand for industrial real estate, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, as businesses continue to cut back.
Although leading indicators like manufacturing and retail spending appear to be picking up, job creation and consumer confidence lag.
“Looking forward to 2010, the industrial market is probably going to have a little rougher recovery,” said Lanie Rea, research manager for Jones Lang LaSalle in Atlanta. “One of the problems is it’s very heavily manufacturing and construction-oriented. Since the start of the downturn, the construction industry has sort of dwindled away. Companies have gone bankrupt and severely downsized.
"In 2010, we will see stabilization as consumer confidence will start to come back and demand for product will grow," she said. "But how long that will take is anybody’s guess.”
Industrial property sales in Atlanta for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, the most recent data available, totaled $328 million vs. $1.3 billion for the prior 12-month period, according to LoopNet, an online commercial real estate listings service.
Statewide, Georgia Power has seen year-to-date industrial sales down 12.4 percent for the first three quarters of the year, compared with the same period in 2008, said spokeswoman Christy Ihrig.
"We're expecting 2010 will be better than this year," she said,"not booming, but better than the sales we got this year."
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new home in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Georgians' Incomes Rise While Jobs Evaporate
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Michael E. Kanell)
At first it makes sense: people who draw paychecks lost ground in Georgia during the third quarter, according to a federal report issued Thursday.
During the three months that wages and salaries slipped at a 0.1 percent pace, the state’s unemployment rate climbed to double digits and 145,000 people filed for jobless benefits.
But in its report, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said that the big number points in a different direction: total personal income surged three times as fast as pay dropped.
“It’s a difficult concept to grasp, given the backdrop of everything that has been reported about the economy,” said Matthew von Kerczek, spokesman for the BEA. “It is hard to get a sense of how many people are unemployed from these numbers.”
The disconnect comes because of what is included in income, he said.
The loss of paychecks was counterbalanced by what are called “transfer payments.” They include unemployment benefits, food stamps and welfare payments, as well as Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and subsidies for laid-off people buying health insurance, courtesy of the federal stimulus package.
“On the one hand, people are losing their jobs. On the other hand, some of the lost income is being offset," said von Kerczek. "If you look at the federal budget, those transfer payments are a really big chunk.”
Nationally, transfer payments account for about $2 trillion a year.
Georgians received transfer payments at a $731 million-a-year clip, which accounts for most of the $981 million increase in personal income during the three months.
The BEA report ranked Georgia right in the middle of the national pack: Growth of the state’s overall income was the 25th best in the country.
That is an improvement from last year, when the state was 41stst. However, the state has ranked much higher in past years: 10th in 2005 and 2000, sixth in 1999 and 12th in 1998.
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying or refinancing a Georgia home? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
At first it makes sense: people who draw paychecks lost ground in Georgia during the third quarter, according to a federal report issued Thursday.
During the three months that wages and salaries slipped at a 0.1 percent pace, the state’s unemployment rate climbed to double digits and 145,000 people filed for jobless benefits.
But in its report, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said that the big number points in a different direction: total personal income surged three times as fast as pay dropped.
“It’s a difficult concept to grasp, given the backdrop of everything that has been reported about the economy,” said Matthew von Kerczek, spokesman for the BEA. “It is hard to get a sense of how many people are unemployed from these numbers.”
The disconnect comes because of what is included in income, he said.
The loss of paychecks was counterbalanced by what are called “transfer payments.” They include unemployment benefits, food stamps and welfare payments, as well as Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and subsidies for laid-off people buying health insurance, courtesy of the federal stimulus package.
“On the one hand, people are losing their jobs. On the other hand, some of the lost income is being offset," said von Kerczek. "If you look at the federal budget, those transfer payments are a really big chunk.”
Nationally, transfer payments account for about $2 trillion a year.
Georgians received transfer payments at a $731 million-a-year clip, which accounts for most of the $981 million increase in personal income during the three months.
The BEA report ranked Georgia right in the middle of the national pack: Growth of the state’s overall income was the 25th best in the country.
That is an improvement from last year, when the state was 41stst. However, the state has ranked much higher in past years: 10th in 2005 and 2000, sixth in 1999 and 12th in 1998.
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying or refinancing a Georgia home? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Lawmakers Propose Propert Tax Reform
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (D.L. Bennett)
Any time a piece of property sells, county assessors would be prohibited from setting a tax value that is higher than the sale price, under a property tax reform proposal that legislators will begin debating next month.
Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) said the reform package coming from the Senate study committee he chairs will include that provision among a lengthy list of changes, including:
• Completely overhauling the appeals system.
• Scrapping property tax returns -- the document homeowners file early in the year if they wish to contest their tax appraisal -- and enabling owners to challenge their valuation every year. Currently, if your tax value doesn't change, and you didn't file a return, you have no right to appeal.
• Allowing a property owner's value to stand in arbitration if the county doesn't respond within 45 days.
Rogers said all the proposals will be crafted into legislation that will go before his study committee the first week of January, just before the General Assembly convenes. The proposals fall short of his goal of scrapping the property tax system altogether. There's not enough support for such radical change. Still, he said the momentum for reform is building.
"The system is very difficult to defend," Rogers said.
Sometimes assessors do use sales as tax values, especially when values are rising.
However, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found during an eight-month review of sales values and tax appraisals in Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties that assessors routinely ignore sales when they fall below tax appraisals. The study found ZIP codes all over metro Atlanta where median sales fell more than 30 percent but median tax appraisals dipped between 5 percent and 10 percent.
The study found assessors cut $4.2 billion in taxable value last year through adjustments to more than 450,000 parcels. However, the newspaper found that if tax appraisals had been lowered as much as sales dictated, the loss would have been nearly $25 billion.
The property tax system was under assault Tuesday as Rogers' committee held its second meeting at the state Capitol. The session drew chief appraisers from Cobb and Gwinnett, tax consultants, tax lawyers, taxpayers and local government officials. Everyone who testified agreed the system must be reformed.
The session drew testimony from two local government officials from far-flung regions of the state, Gilmer County in the Georgia mountains and Glynn County on the Georgia coast. Both said assessments in their counties are controversial and problematic.
Cap Fendig, former Glynn commission chairman, said his county's assessments haven't dropped at nearly the pace of property values, which have fallen off dramatically as the market for high-dollar second and third homes has tanked.
"The property tax system should be eliminated," Fendig said. He complained that it is "rife with errors" and "subject to political manipulation."
Mark Chastain, Gilmer's chair, proposed a new property tax structure in which properties are valued based on a uniform formula that takes into account issues such as zoning, lot size and use, rather than a system that's supposed to be based on setting tax values to match the market. He said such a task is impossible.
"Property tax is the only tax I know of where the government assumes the burden of proof and goes out and determines what your property is worth," Chastain said. "It's easy to see the inequities. By definition, mass appraisal is inaccurate. It's very subjective."
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new home or refinancing in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052 or visit our website at http://www.peachtreemortgageservices.net/.
Any time a piece of property sells, county assessors would be prohibited from setting a tax value that is higher than the sale price, under a property tax reform proposal that legislators will begin debating next month.
Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) said the reform package coming from the Senate study committee he chairs will include that provision among a lengthy list of changes, including:
• Completely overhauling the appeals system.
• Scrapping property tax returns -- the document homeowners file early in the year if they wish to contest their tax appraisal -- and enabling owners to challenge their valuation every year. Currently, if your tax value doesn't change, and you didn't file a return, you have no right to appeal.
• Allowing a property owner's value to stand in arbitration if the county doesn't respond within 45 days.
Rogers said all the proposals will be crafted into legislation that will go before his study committee the first week of January, just before the General Assembly convenes. The proposals fall short of his goal of scrapping the property tax system altogether. There's not enough support for such radical change. Still, he said the momentum for reform is building.
"The system is very difficult to defend," Rogers said.
Sometimes assessors do use sales as tax values, especially when values are rising.
However, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found during an eight-month review of sales values and tax appraisals in Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties that assessors routinely ignore sales when they fall below tax appraisals. The study found ZIP codes all over metro Atlanta where median sales fell more than 30 percent but median tax appraisals dipped between 5 percent and 10 percent.
The study found assessors cut $4.2 billion in taxable value last year through adjustments to more than 450,000 parcels. However, the newspaper found that if tax appraisals had been lowered as much as sales dictated, the loss would have been nearly $25 billion.
The property tax system was under assault Tuesday as Rogers' committee held its second meeting at the state Capitol. The session drew chief appraisers from Cobb and Gwinnett, tax consultants, tax lawyers, taxpayers and local government officials. Everyone who testified agreed the system must be reformed.
The session drew testimony from two local government officials from far-flung regions of the state, Gilmer County in the Georgia mountains and Glynn County on the Georgia coast. Both said assessments in their counties are controversial and problematic.
Cap Fendig, former Glynn commission chairman, said his county's assessments haven't dropped at nearly the pace of property values, which have fallen off dramatically as the market for high-dollar second and third homes has tanked.
"The property tax system should be eliminated," Fendig said. He complained that it is "rife with errors" and "subject to political manipulation."
Mark Chastain, Gilmer's chair, proposed a new property tax structure in which properties are valued based on a uniform formula that takes into account issues such as zoning, lot size and use, rather than a system that's supposed to be based on setting tax values to match the market. He said such a task is impossible.
"Property tax is the only tax I know of where the government assumes the burden of proof and goes out and determines what your property is worth," Chastain said. "It's easy to see the inequities. By definition, mass appraisal is inaccurate. It's very subjective."
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new home or refinancing in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052 or visit our website at http://www.peachtreemortgageservices.net/.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Good News: Housing Permits Top Nov. of Last Year
From the Marietta Daily Journal (Kim Isaza )
Across Cobb County, 38 permits for new homes were issued in November, which is more than were issued in the same month one year ago. November 2008 saw only 22 permits.
Unincorporated Cobb issued 25 permits last month. The city of Kennesaw issued six, Acworth and Smyrna issued three each and Austell issued one. None were issued in Marietta or Powder Springs.
For the year, housing permits are half of what they were in 2008. With only one month left in the year, there have been 347 issued across Cobb. At this time a year ago, there were 699 issued.
That is a stark contrast to 2004, when 5,233 permits were issued through November.
Eric Price, chief operating officer at Marietta's Traton Homes, said his company has purchased nine subdivisions across metro Atlanta, either through short sales from the original developer or via foreclosures.
"It's hard to speak for the industry anymore, because everybody's situations are so different," Price said. "We're positioned very well to have a good 2010 - and good's a long way from great - if we can follow our business plan and continue to find those deals. Where we used to do 100 acres, we now might do 15 acres. We have to be very opportunistic and find the right location for the right price where we can offer the right product."
Clif Poston, the company's executive vice president, estimated Traton would build 75 to 80 homes in Cobb next year and talked about competing against new homes that have been built, but have yet to sell.
"You've got to be able to put a new home out there at a comparable price to existing homes," Poston said. "That's where we feel optimistic. There's a lot of new homes at old prices. We built a lot of homes at the high $400s, $500s, $600s and $700s. Go back a few years and that was the going price. What we're seeing now is a lot of reestablishing values. We can provide a comparable house for significantly less," he said.
"It has been several, several difficult years," Poston said. "But we see some signs that make us optimistic."
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new home in Cobb County or anywhere else in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
Across Cobb County, 38 permits for new homes were issued in November, which is more than were issued in the same month one year ago. November 2008 saw only 22 permits.
Unincorporated Cobb issued 25 permits last month. The city of Kennesaw issued six, Acworth and Smyrna issued three each and Austell issued one. None were issued in Marietta or Powder Springs.
For the year, housing permits are half of what they were in 2008. With only one month left in the year, there have been 347 issued across Cobb. At this time a year ago, there were 699 issued.
That is a stark contrast to 2004, when 5,233 permits were issued through November.
Eric Price, chief operating officer at Marietta's Traton Homes, said his company has purchased nine subdivisions across metro Atlanta, either through short sales from the original developer or via foreclosures.
"It's hard to speak for the industry anymore, because everybody's situations are so different," Price said. "We're positioned very well to have a good 2010 - and good's a long way from great - if we can follow our business plan and continue to find those deals. Where we used to do 100 acres, we now might do 15 acres. We have to be very opportunistic and find the right location for the right price where we can offer the right product."
Clif Poston, the company's executive vice president, estimated Traton would build 75 to 80 homes in Cobb next year and talked about competing against new homes that have been built, but have yet to sell.
"You've got to be able to put a new home out there at a comparable price to existing homes," Poston said. "That's where we feel optimistic. There's a lot of new homes at old prices. We built a lot of homes at the high $400s, $500s, $600s and $700s. Go back a few years and that was the going price. What we're seeing now is a lot of reestablishing values. We can provide a comparable house for significantly less," he said.
"It has been several, several difficult years," Poston said. "But we see some signs that make us optimistic."
Posted by Peachtree Mortgage Services, Inc. Buying a new home in Cobb County or anywhere else in metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Foreclosure Notices Rise for the Month, Year
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Michelle E. Shaw)
The economy may be recovering slowly, but an increase in the number of foreclosure notices sent out in December added an exclamation point to an already record-breaking year.
While numbers were expected to increase this month, there were still 77 percent more notices published for the 13-county metro area than one year ago, according to data from Alpharetta-based Equity Depot.
Equity Depot tracks notices published each month for public auctions scheduled for the following month. December’s numbers count the homes set for auction in January.
Just because a property receives a notice doesn’t necessarily mean it will be auctioned. Many owners may make last-minute payment arrangements with lender which keeps the property from reaching the auction steps.
According to the data, there were 11,107 foreclosure notices published for the 13-county area this month, compared to 5,834 last December. More than 117,000 notices were published in 2009, up 47 percent from the 79,484 in 2008.
The most recent numbers show filings are up nearly 10 percent from November, but down 16 percent since September, this year’s high-water mark.
In December, Gwinnett had the most notices published with 2,074, followed Fulton with 2,006 and DeKalb with 1,568. Cobb and Clayton rounded out the top five with 1,203 and 866 respectively.
For the year, Fulton led the 13 counties with 24,609 published notices and Gwinnett was next with 23,193.
“I don’t really expect to see any dramatic change until the job situation turns around,” said Carolyn Brown, president of the Community Bankers Association of Georgia. “That there are 77 percent more than this time last year is a strong statement, but not a shocking one.”
Although the economy seems to be expanding again, neither hiring nor the housing marking is expected to recover in the near future.
The foreclosure picture for 2010 is mostly unknown, said Barry Bramlett, chief executive at Equity Depot, who has compiled foreclosure data for 20 years.
“The only clue you really have is what you hear from mortgage bankers or default firms., and there have been so many ‘work-out’ plans, nobody seems to know how many hidden foreclosures there are out there,” he said. “The default firms are saying they don’t see it dropping off anytime soon, unfortunately.”
Something that seems to be picking up steam is commercial foreclosure notices, Bramlett said. While approximately 90 percent of the notices reported are residential, the remainder are commercial, he said.
“We’ve seen more things like hotels, motels, office buildings, theaters and that sort of thing,” he said. “And those things, like a $50 million project, stand out at you when we’re going through the data. There could be more of those to come.”
Buying a new home i metro Atlanta? Call us today at 770.481.0052, or visit our website at www.peachtreemortgageservices.net.
The economy may be recovering slowly, but an increase in the number of foreclosure notices sent out in December added an exclamation point to an already record-breaking year.
While numbers were expected to increase this month, there were still 77 percent more notices published for the 13-county metro area than one year ago, according to data from Alpharetta-based Equity Depot.
Equity Depot tracks notices published each month for public auctions scheduled for the following month. December’s numbers count the homes set for auction in January.
Just because a property receives a notice doesn’t necessarily mean it will be auctioned. Many owners may make last-minute payment arrangements with lender which keeps the property from reaching the auction steps.
According to the data, there were 11,107 foreclosure notices published for the 13-county area this month, compared to 5,834 last December. More than 117,000 notices were published in 2009, up 47 percent from the 79,484 in 2008.
The most recent numbers show filings are up nearly 10 percent from November, but down 16 percent since September, this year’s high-water mark.
In December, Gwinnett had the most notices published with 2,074, followed Fulton with 2,006 and DeKalb with 1,568. Cobb and Clayton rounded out the top five with 1,203 and 866 respectively.
For the year, Fulton led the 13 counties with 24,609 published notices and Gwinnett was next with 23,193.
“I don’t really expect to see any dramatic change until the job situation turns around,” said Carolyn Brown, president of the Community Bankers Association of Georgia. “That there are 77 percent more than this time last year is a strong statement, but not a shocking one.”
Although the economy seems to be expanding again, neither hiring nor the housing marking is expected to recover in the near future.
The foreclosure picture for 2010 is mostly unknown, said Barry Bramlett, chief executive at Equity Depot, who has compiled foreclosure data for 20 years.
“The only clue you really have is what you hear from mortgage bankers or default firms., and there have been so many ‘work-out’ plans, nobody seems to know how many hidden foreclosures there are out there,” he said. “The default firms are saying they don’t see it dropping off anytime soon, unfortunately.”
Something that seems to be picking up steam is commercial foreclosure notices, Bramlett said. While approximately 90 percent of the notices reported are residential, the remainder are commercial, he said.
“We’ve seen more things like hotels, motels, office buildings, theaters and that sort of thing,” he said. “And those things, like a $50 million project, stand out at you when we’re going through the data. There could be more of those to come.”
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