Metro Atlanta ranked 3rd nationally in 2010 foreclosure activity

LOS ANGELES — Metro Atlanta was near the top of foreclosure activity in 2010, with a 21 percent bump since 2009, according to a report released Thursday.

Only the Houston and Seattle areas rank ahead of metro Atlanta in the number of reported foreclosure activity, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

The firm tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions — waings that can lead up to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure.

All told, foreclosure activity jumped in 149 of the country’s 206 largest metropolitan areas last year, the report said.

In Seattle, Houston and Chicago, cities that were relatively insulated from foreclosures early on in the housing bust, a growing number of homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and finding themselves on the receiving end of foreclosure waings.

Others, like those in the Atlanta area, have already seen their homes repossessed by lenders.

The Houston area saw its foreclosure rate jump 26 percent from 2009, the largest increase among the top 20 biggest metro areas, the firm said.

The Seattle area ranked second with an increase of nearly 23 percent, while the Atlanta area was third with the 21 percent hike.

In the metro Atlanta area, 38,535 homes were repossessed by lenders in 2010, an 8 percent increase from 2009, according to RealtyTrac.

The data company counts foreclosure filings as notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and actual home repossessions.

Job loss has become the main driver behind this trend, according to the report.

”We’ve actually had a sea change in what’s causing foreclosures, from the overheated home prices and bad loans to a second wave of foreclosures actually caused by unemployment and economic displacement, says Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.