Foreclosure notices spiked in March as banks had an extra week to process delinquent mortgages, but the number of properties at risk of being taken back by lenders remains well below the recessionary highs, according to a report released Monday.
Real estate research firm Equity Depot said 2,356 properties were advertised for foreclosure in March. That’s up about 22 percent from February and 39 percent from January, when the number of listings hit a 14-year low.
The jump in foreclosure notices is likely the result of a fifth week in March for lenders to advertise, said Barry Bramlett, president and CEO of Equity Depot. The figures for March are about 5.5 percent higher than March a year ago.
“If anything, I think it shows the numbers have clearly settled at this level,” said Barry Bramlett, president and CEO of Equity Depot. “Whether there will be any increases we’ll have to wait and see. I can’t imagine them falling any lower than they are now since they’re as low as 2002 levels.”
Metro Atlanta is still digging out of a housing and financial crisis that resulted in a historic spike in foreclosures, wrecked property values, eroded household wealth and pummeled local and state government coffers.
The drop in foreclosure notices in the past few years has helped property values rebound by reducing the number of fire-sale houses on the market. Values that plummeted to mid-1990s levels during the worst of the bust now are back to early 2004 levels, according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
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