Foreclosure notices in metro Atlanta rose slightly this month, but there were 29 percent fewer notices than in November of last year.
During the month, there were 2,083 notices in the 13-county region, according to a report Monday from Kennesaw-based Equity Depot. That compares to 2,066 in October and 2,928 during November of 2013.
So far this year, there have been 47 percent fewer foreclosure notices than during the first 11 months of last year, according to Equity Depot.
Foreclosure notices do not always mean the loss of a home. Equity Depot has estimated that roughly half of properties whose owners get notices end up being sold. Other estimates vary.
But whether the homeowner does end up losing the house or not, the number of notices is seen as a general barometer of stress in housing, as well as in the economy. The more owners receiving foreclosure notices, the more that are having trouble making their monthly mortgage payments.
And between 2006 and March 2014, about 235,000 homeowners – about one in every 12 of all metro households – lost homes to foreclosure, according to ViaSearch, an Atlanta-based market research company.
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