The State of Foreclosures in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia has one of the most affordable real estate markets in the US. Prices of homes in this city have witnessed considerable volatility in the recent past. Median price of listed properties touched $210,000 in January 2014, before retracing to $249,900, which is just $100 short of the price in April, 2013. Month on month, inventory overhang has declined by one percent even though new listing of homes for resale has not decreased much. Distressed sales have not varied much between April and May 2014. However there is 25 percent drop in distressed since April 2013. This trend may be considered as an indication of better prospects for the housing market in this city.

Foreclosure Trends

Around December 2011, there were many of the city’s properties in resale market. Average price of these properties was about $169,900. There are about 2,968 homes in the resale market now. Last April, this number was around 2,643 in April, which increased to 3,006 by April 2014 before resuming its downward course. Even then, the present inventory overhang is considerably lower when compared to that in 2009 January or even 2011 January. Median square foot price in this city was approximately $100 in January 2012, and today it is about $150.

About 1/3rd of homes that were on sale in Atlanta in 2009 were foreclosures. It is interesting however to note that foreclosures are slowly forming a flat base in bar graphs, from where they would in all probability break downwards. Graphs of Atlanta related foreclosure data show that the present number of foreclosures is marginally lower than what it was last June. But the numbers of foreclosures have remained steadily below 400 since January 2014, whereas the numbers of foreclosures have been varied drastically between June 2013 and January 2014.

Since January 2014, there is plateau formation in the bar graph of foreclosure numbers. This is certainly a good news for most people in the city. When the ratios are compared with the State as a whole, then the foreclosures in the city are lower by almost 0.03 percent. Foreclosure numbers seem positive in comparison to national foreclosure averages as well, which in April were about 0.09 percent in comparison to 0.07 percent units in Atlanta.

The decline in foreclosures and auctions is however dramatic since last year. Around April 2013, 36.4 percent properties were foreclosed by banks, whereas 49.2 percent were auctioned. A year later, the percentages have dwindled to 0.9 percent and 5.6 percent respectively.

Though the ratio of foreclosures in the city as of now is 1 foreclosure for every 1121 homes, there are a few pockets in the city where the number of foreclosures is more. Maximum foreclosures are witnessed in areas with 30336, 30344, 30354, 30316, and 30310 zip codes. In 30336, 1 from every 256 dwelling units is under foreclosure. Corresponding ratio for 30344 is 1 from every 605 units. On average one house amongst 655 homes in zip code 30354 is under foreclosure. Likewise, 1 house from every 657 homes is under foreclosure in the area with 30316 zip code. In 30312, 1 house out of every 662 homes is under foreclosure. Investors looking to invest in Atlanta might find this information useful in deciding where to invest and what they can afford.

Based on these trends, it may be concluded that Atlanta’s real estate market is poised to turn around. Correspondingly, there is bound to be a drop in the number of foreclosures and other forms of distress sales. There are ample opportunities for investors to enter the market. End users waiting on sidelines should start hunting their dream homes in Atlanta now.

Sources:

http://realtytrac.com/statsandtrends/foreclosuretrends/ga/fulton-county/atlanta
http://movoto.com/atlanta-ga/market-trends/#city=&time=5Y&metric=Median%20List%20Price&type=0

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