Foreclosure swallows new subdivisions before opening

The white paint has barely dried on the cathedral ceilings. And some of the stacked-stone chimneys have yet to crackle with that first fire. Here, in a half-built neighborhood near Grayson, everything is freshly minted, down to the suburban dreams. Yet earlier this month, outside the Gwinnett County courthouse, nearly half the subdivision was auctioned off - the latest casualty of a foreclosure crisis that has pounded model-home sales offices around metro Atlanta. In less than two hours, the bank bought 21 properties owned by the builders of Chandler Woods Estates. A few were unsold homes. Most were vacant lots. All went to a buyer with no home-owning dreams. This is s somber reminder of how bad things are for those that are over extended in The Gwinnett County Subdivisions market.