Georgia has sixth-highest foreclosure rates in the first quarter of 2008, and Atlanta ranks 16th amonst cities with the most number of foreclsures.

From Forbes:

The number of foreclosures filed by US homeowners increased sharply for the seventh consecutive quarter, according to a private sector report released today.

In the three months ending in March, the number of foreclosures totaled 649,917, up 23 pct from the previous quarter and 112 pct from the first quarter of 2007, California-based RealtyTrac said.

The report, from RealtyTrac, shows that foreclosures, which were already at record highs, have more than doubled from this time last year. The statistics count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the quarter and show that there is no immediate end in sight to the rising numbers of foreclosing properties.

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Georgia's first-quarter foreclosures skyrocketed 80 percent, while metro Atlanta's jumped 69 percent, according to RealtyTrac's Q1 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report released April 29.

Georgia ranked sixth in first-quarter foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - with 28,503. This is a 79.9 percent increase over the first quarter of 2007 and a 22.5 percent rise over the fourth quarter of 2007. One out of every 136 Georgia households got a foreclosure notice in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Marietta metro area had 22,554 foreclosures in the first quarter, putting it at 16th among major metros. The area's foreclosures were up 68.7 percent over the first quarter of 2007 and 13.7 percent over the fourth quarter of 2007. One out of every 91 metro households got a foreclosure filing in the first quarter.

Atlanta's numbers do show a lesser increase in year-over-year foreclosures than the national rates - but the immediate future still remains bleak. Foreclosure rates are indicative of past problems, and each foreclosure filing today represents a borrower who fell behind in mortgage payments months ago.

Foreclosure rates also are forward-looking: while a number of the properties with loans in default will be cured before the actual foreclosure sale, it's a good bet that the majority will not. More than likely these properties will end up back with the lender, only to be listed and resold as REOs several months in the future.

If we take it that the great bulk of mortgage foreclosures can be attributed to adjustable-rate mortgages, then as more and more of those loans adjust, we can expect foreclosure rates to continue increasing. With the peak of these loans not resetting until later this year, it is more likely than not that the record rates of foreclosures will continue.

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