Foreclosures Down In Georgia

The following article from Realty Trac states that number of foreclosures is down in Georgia. for the first half of 2011.  The same is true for Chatham County.  One reason in addition to the information provided by Realty Trac is the banks are working with real estate agents who bring short sale opportunities to the banks.  The banks prefer a short sale to a foreclosure and or an REO.  As a subscriber to Realty Trac, I am pleased to forward the following information to you.

Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 60,870 Georgia properties during the first six months of 2011, an 18 percent drop from the second half of 2010 and 15 percent below the level reported for the first half of last year, according to the Midyear 2011 Foreclosure Market Report just released by RealtyTrac^®. The state remained fifth highest in foreclosure rate nationally, reporting 1.50 percent of its housing units received a foreclosure filing during the six-month period.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 9,715 Georgia properties in June, down 8 percent from May and down 20 percent from June 2010. One in every 418 Georgia housing units received a foreclosure filing in June, the eighth highest state foreclosure rate in the nation.

 

Newton and Walton counties posts top foreclosure rate at midyear

Newton and Walton counties posted the state’s top county foreclosure rate for the first half of 2011 each with one in every 32 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — 3.5 times the national average and 2.1 times the state average. Henry and Barrow counties came in second highest for the six-month period, with one in every 34 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing — 3.3 times the national average and twice the state average.

Fulton County has state’s highest foreclosure total

Fulton County had the highest level of foreclosure activity in the state, reporting 7,762 properties with foreclosure filings for the period. Gwinnett County was second highest, reporting 6,947 properties with foreclosure filings. Dekalb County came in third, tallying 5,953 properties with foreclosure filings. Fourth highest was Cobb County, where 4,638 properties with foreclosure filings were reported. Clayton County was fifth, reporting 2,719 properties with foreclosure filings for the first half of the year.

State a top contributor to nation’s foreclosure total in first half of 2011

Georgia accounted for 5 percent of the 1,170,402 properties with foreclosure filings reported nationwide for the first half of 2011. Total U.S. activity decreased 25 percent from the second half of 2010, and was down 29 percent from the level reported for the first half of 2010. One in every 111 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the first six months of the year.

“It would be nice to report that foreclosure activity is dropping as a result of improvements in the economy or the housing market,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Unfortunately, with unemployment rates inching back up, consumer confidence weak and home sales and prices continuing to languish, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

“Processing and procedural delays are pushing foreclosures further and further out – we estimate that as many as 1 million foreclosure actions that should have taken place in 2011 will now happen in 2012, or perhaps even later. This casts an ominous shadow over the housing market, where recovery is unlikely to happen until the current and forthcoming inventory of distressed properties can be whittled down to a manageable number.”

Up a Creek Without a Paddle

After two years of experience working as a CDPE Advanced and successfully achieving the designation as an Associate Broker, I transferred my Real Estate license to Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties, located here in Savannah. The downfall in the real estate market convinced me that business as usually was no longer an option. For the past two years I have been active with homeowners who needed help with their distressed properties.

As a CDPE Advanced (Certified Distressed Property Expert), CIAS (Certified Investor Agent Specialists), DPP (Distressed Property Professional), REO Specialists and Associate Broker, I am trained and qualified to help individuals and other agents who have issues with their distressed properties.

Over the past 24 plus months the average number of homes advertised per month in Chatham County ranges between 250—350. Of the properties advertised 100—150 are sold each month on the court house steps. 5-10 of these homes are purchased by individual or investor groups and the remaining return to the banks as REO properties. Unfortunately, 70+% of the homeowners who have properties sold at the monthly foreclose auction on the courthouse steps never talked to a real estate professional.

Due to a number of reasons, many agents elect not to be involved with distressed properties and the short process. Due to the complexity, ever changing rules and regulations, plus the time and energy that required, it is not surprising that many agents elect not to participate.

Quite frankly 90-95% of the real estate professionals are “Up the Creek without a Paddle” when it comes to short sales and distressed properties. I am now offering a “Paddle” to those professionals who find themselves “Up the Creek”!

Along with offering a Paddle, I am also offering several commission referral plans:

1. 25% of the listing commission will be paid for the name and contact information of individuals who desire assistance with the short sale process. This referral fee is charged to the individual who elects not to be involved in the listing procedure or the negotiating process with the banks.
2. 50-50% split of the listing commission will agents who select to be responsible for the listing process but not the negotiating with the banks process.
3. The listing agent will pay a 25% of the listing fee for assistance and directions through out the short sale process.

For more detailed information, contact Rob Sales @ Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties.

Office: 912-355-4171
Cell: 912-655-7674
Fax: 888-325-0711
Email: robsmartshortsales@gmail.com
Website: www.smartshortsales.net