I really hate to keep talking about foreclosures but they have become so big a factor in the market I just have to. I ran across some disturbing figures this week concerning Georgia and the Atlanta metro area, I thought I would share them with you for your considration. First of all, we are not the worse place to be, but placing 9th in the whole US is certainly nothing to cheer about. As a percentage of total homes, GA has 31,134 forclosed properties on the market and that gets them the number 9 ranking behind (in order, most to least) Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, California, New Jersey, Utah and then GA, with Texas filling out the top 10.  Total number of homes in foreclosure is led by California (214,499), followed by Florida (181,370). Wow, those numbers are staggering. Sadly, the Atlanta area, when compared to ther metro areas, ranks fourth in increased foreclosures over last year (06) with a 165% increase over the prior year, which was also a bad year. Figures like this concern me very much. It makes selling a home at a good price nearly impossible and the continued decline makes investing a questionable enterprise at this point since no one knows when it is going to turn around. The only people gaining from this situation is first time buyers who plan on being in their home for a number of years. There are some apparent bargains to be had if the situation does not continue to worsen. My opinion is it is going to take years for the market to truly recover. It is difficult to flush through this much unsold inventory.