Georgia’s housing market isn’t out of the woods yet.
Foreclosure sales in Georgia accounted for 38 percent of all residential sales in the state during the third quarter, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, the real estate research firm. Even though that’s a slight dip from the previous quarter, it’s still the highest percentage in the nation.
The rate in Atlanta was even higher: About 41 percent of all residential sales in metro Atlanta were foreclosure-related, according to the report.
The report also shows pre-foreclosure sales in Georgia increased 40 percent from the same time period last year. And non-foreclosure short sales in Georgia increased 32 percent from last year’s third quarter, accounting for about 18 percent of all sales during the time period.
The foreclosure numbers tend to fluctuate frequently but real estate analysts view them as a key indicator of the health of Atlanta’s market.
Nationally, more than 190,000 U.S. properties in some stage of foreclosure were sold during the third quarter. That’s up by 21 percent from the previous quarter but down 3 percent from the same time period last year. In all, foreclosure-related sales accounted for about one-fifth of all U.S. residential sales during the quarter.
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