Cherokee foreclosures nearly quadruple in 2008

Cherokee County had about 1,900 properties foreclosed on in 2008, compared to an average of 400 to 500 in most years, John Adams, the county’s chief assessor said Wednesday.

About 800 of those were vacant lots, and the rest were improved properties, with houses or businesses, Adams said. He’s predicting that the foreclosures could have a bearing on this year’s property assessments. “A lot of them will [see a decline in value], but not all of them,” Adams said.

Buzz Ahrens, chairman of the county commission, said that while foreclosures have “snowballed,” it’s “hard to tell at this point the impact on 2009 assessments.

“We’ll know more in a month or so,” he said. The county’s tax digest was growing for several years by 12 percent to 15 percent annually, Adams said. Last year, it increased by 4.5 percent, he said.