Interesting Info on the Areas With Highest Foreclosure Rates

In todays USA TODAY there is an article that states "half of the foreclosures in 2008 took place in only 35 counties". Wow...that kind of put things in perspective. The article goes on to say "the 35 counties are located in just 12 states" and that these counties were the epi-center of the banking/mortgage crisis. Even more fascinating is that 25% of all foreclosures occurred in only eight counties in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.

What was the most important piece of information in the article: " In more than 650 other counties-about a fifth of the nation-the number of foreclosure actions actually dropped since 2006".

If you look at the map, you'll see that Fulton County was one of the counties with the highest number of foreclosures. This resulted from another problem...the fact that South Fulton County, and more specifically Southwest Atlanta, was the mortgage fraud CAPITAL of the country. Obviously, the tidal wave of mortgage fraud resulted in a surge of foreclosures, giving Fulton County that dubious distinction.

All in all, the USA Today article is a glimpse at where the real problem areas are and what was the source. As side from the mortgage fraud issue, Atlanta has been plugging along and is a great investment that will reap huge benefits in the future.

SOURCE OF INFO and MAP: USA TODAY 3/6/09