Notices for the 13-county metro area
Through July of each year
2013: 33,771 - down 42.5 percent
2012: 58,741 - down 9.6 percent
2011: 65,008 - down 6.4 percent
2010: 69,428 - up 5.9 percent
2009: 65,542 - up 42.2 percent
Source: Equity Depot
What foreclosures and home values mean for you
Foreclosures flooded many areas of metro Atlanta with low-priced houses, pulling down values for everyone. And home values are important even for people who are not trying to buy or sell. They are a key ingredient of the so-called “wealth effect”: When the value of assets such as homes and stocks rises, people spend more, boosting the broader economy. When values drop, spending dries up.
Foreclosure notices in metro Atlanta are falling as sharply as they once rose.
Through July, notices are down 42.5 percent from the same period of 2012 for the 13-county metro area. That follows two years of single-digit decreases over those seven months.
More important, it reverses a runup that was as dramatic as this year’s decrease: In the first seven months of 2009, foreclosure notice filings rose 42.2 percent over the same period in 2008 as the effects of the housing bust set in. Current numbers are consistent with 2007 foreclosure levels, prior to the worst of the housing crisis.
Foreclosure notices are filed by lenders when homeowners are in arrears. Consistently lower filings — 33,771 this year so, vs. 58,741 through July of last year — are a further sign of a modest housing recovery as inventory remains low and prices rebound.
“All bad things come to an end, eventually,” said Eugene James, Atlanta regional director of Metrostudy. “We’re darn close.”
The notices do not count actual foreclosures, but homes that are advertised for foreclosure. July’s figures, from Equity Depot, are consistent with a recovery that has been in the works for several months, said Barry Bramlett, president and CEO of the Kennesaw company.
“It’s the status quo, for now,” Bramlett said. “It’s a good thing.”
Bramlett said fewer advertised foreclosure notices means fewer homeowners are defaulting. A decrease in foreclosures also means there is less of a glut in the housing market. In fact, the number of homes for sale is so low that prices are rising quickly as buyers in some areas compete for the existing homes.
Rising values benefit not only sellers but also people who have been “underwater,” or those who owed more than their home was worth. As prices around them rise, people may be more likely to get out from under their high debt loads, and sell their homes for a profit.
As home values rise, people also feel more confident spending money on other things.
“Things are better, and we expect them to continue to get better,” James said.
James attributed the drop in filings in part to more homeowners being able to hang on to their homes. Some of the improvements in foreclosure notices, he said, may be because people who had to default on loans to begin negotiations with their lenders no longer feel like they need to do so.
While notices in July rose 16.9 percent from June, to 5,200 from 4,449, Bramlett said the month-to-month increase was expected. There was an additional week to prepare advertisements for July, and in longer months, the figures typically rise.
Still, he said, the June-to-July increase was less than he expected. And, he said, year-over-year numbers continue to show significant reductions.
“I don’t hear of any huge increase in the numbers coming,” Bramlett said. “I don’t expect a decrease, either.”
About the Author
