Atlanta foreclosed homes for sale dropped in number in October compared to the previous month, but the number is much higher compared to October last year, based on data from a real estate research firm based in Georgia.
Throughout the Atlanta metro area, nearly 9,600 foreclosure notices were posted, a decrease of 22 percent compared to notices filed in September. The properties described in the notices will be included in public auctions scheduled in November.
The decrease in foreclosure notices in October is also significant because there are 5 other months in 2009 which posted higher notices than October.
However, the total number of foreclosures posted since January totaled 97,339, a number much higher than the total of 79,484 recorded during the same period last year.
According to the researchers, the still high number of foreclosures is driven by record high unemployment figures and the still high number of delinquent subprime mortgages.
Some real estate analysts also explained the increase in October as a result of the extra days added to the counting period. This occurs when the scheduled auction falls on the sixth or seventh, and not on the first or second day of the month.
Compared to October last year, the number of Atlanta foreclosed homes for sale entering public auctions increased by nearly 50 percent.
Among the 13 counties of the Atlanta metro area, Gwinnett posted the highest number of foreclosures with more than 2,000 filings. Fulton followed with 1,900 filings and third was Dekalb with nearly 1,500 filings. Cobb and Clayton counties posted 1,049 and 749 foreclosure filings respectively.
Based on data from the Georgia Labor Department, the unemployment rate in metro Atlanta dropped slightly from 10.6 percent in July to 10.4 in August, but state officials explained that the decline did not indicate an improvement in the job market. The decline occurred because of shrinkage in the metro workforce, according to labor officials.
Robert Allsbrook, economist for Regions Bank, said the unemployment rate will rise in the coming months. He explained that some residents are not counted, such as people staying at home to take care of children or parents.
In the Atlanta area, the total number of people actively looking for work as of August was 277,585 and the number of employed who were laid off in August was 23,365.
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