Atlanta’s Foreclosure Rate Shows No Signs Of Letting Go
Since 2001, the rate at which homes in foreclosure are appearing in the Atlanta market is only increasing. There are several reasons that have contributed to this. During the turn of the century, the prices of the homes in Atlanta were high and the interest rates were low. This encouraged homebuyers to stick their necks out with some risky loans. But, soon a downward trend began in the prices of homes. People saw home prices plummeting and, on the other hand, the rate of interest soared.
Homebuyers who had taken their homes at floating rates of interest were now slapped with a heavy monthly payment to make, which bore a hole in their monthly budget. Along the way, several people lost their jobs and had other financial issues. Even selling their homes would not solve this situation because of the lowering prices of homes. Resultantly, by 2007, a lot of homes were up in foreclosure auctions in Atlanta.
This slump will also have effects on the real estate market in general. Peoples will be warier of buying homes and those who live in them through mortgages will have to face more rates of interest. It is expected that people who have collectively borrowed about $800 billion in loans will have to make bigger payments or refinance or even sell their homes within the next one or two years.
One of the main reasons why the number of Atlanta foreclosure homes is increasing is because of the simplified laws that allow creditors to foreclose homes quicker than in other states. The laws enable lenders to get defaulting home mortgages on the foreclosure listings in as little as 60 days, which is the highest when you consider total foreclosures by state. As a result, today 2.7% of all homes on mortgages in Georgia are on the verge of foreclosure. Comparing this with the 1.1% foreclosed homes of the total mortgaged ones, the upward trend in foreclosure in Atlanta can be very clearly seen.
