Foreclosure filings in metro Atlanta and in Georgia declined in October from September, bucking the national trend, according to a report released Friday by the tracking firm RealtyTrac.
Foreclosure activity in October was down 11 percent in the metro area and just over 13 percent statewide compared with September. The state had 10,010 properties with foreclosure filings, or one in every 406 housing units. Atlanta metro had 7,400 filings, or one in 293.
The total includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.
The October 2011 total is down nearly 33 percent both for the metro area and for Georgia from October 2010.
Atlanta ranked 27th in foreclosure rate among metro areas while Georgia ranked sixth among states.
The states with a higher foreclosure rate than Georgia during October were Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan.
Stockton, Calif., had the highest foreclosure rate among metro areas, with four other California cities in the top 10. Las Vegas, which had the highest rate for 22 consecutive months, dropped to fifth.
Nationwide, foreclosure filings increased 7 percent in October. One in every 563 housing units had a filing. That is still down more than 30 percent from October 2010.
RealtyTrac said the backlog of foreclosure properties must be cleared out in order for true market recovery to occur.
"The October foreclosure numbers continue to show strong signs that foreclosure activity is coming out of the rain delay we've been in for the past year as lenders corrected foreclosure paperwork and processing problems," said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, speaking of the nationwide increase.
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