Georgia ranked fourth nationally in foreclosure rates during August, according to the tracking firm RealtyTrac.
There were 11,743 properties in the state last month with foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. That is up 2 percent from July but down 28 percent from August 2010, according to RealtyTrac's numbers.
The upward trend was noted last month by the Kennesaw firm Equity Depot. Its figures said foreclosure notices in metro Atlanta rose 16 percent in August from July, but it explained that part of the rise in raw numbers was because the count took in five weeks of notices, rather than four weeks.
The three states with more foreclosures than Georgia, according to RealtyTrac, were Nevada, California and Arizona in that order.
Georgia was followed by Idaho, Florida, Illinois, Colorado and Utah.
The increase in new foreclosure actions may signal that lenders are starting to push through some of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing and other documentation problems, said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
“It also foreshadows more bank repossessions in the coming months as these new foreclosures make their way through the process," he said.
The company's report shows one in every 570 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.
For more information on RealtyTrac's Georgia numbers, go to www.realtytrac.com/mapsearch/georgia-foreclosures.html.
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