One in 328 Georgia homes foreclosed in January

By Misty Williams

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia continued to post the fourth-highest rate of foreclosure filings in the nation last month, which also saw the total number jump 17 percent from December, a new study shows.

Statewide, 12,467 homes were the subject of a foreclosure filing – including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – in January, California-based RealtyTrac reported Thursday. That’s one in every 328 homes, compared with one in every 624 nationally.

While up from December, filings were down about 2.4 percent from January 2011.

Foreclosures will continue to rise nationwide in the coming months, especially given the recent settlement between 49 state attorneys general and five of the nation’s largest lenders, said Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties. Earlier this month, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial agreed to pay more than $25 billion to cover foreclosure abuses.

“The settlement sets forth clear guidelines for lenders and servicers to follow when foreclosing, which should allow them to push through some of the delayed foreclosures from last year,” Moore said.

Nevada ranked No. 1 in January with one foreclosure filing for every 198 homes, followed by California and Arizona.