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10 best cities to buy short sale homes

4. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. (32.9 percent)

Business Wire/File
The pool at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel downtown is shown in this file photo. The Atlanta metro area saw a 63 percent surge in short sales between the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011.

  • By Schuyler Velasco Correspondent

Georgia's foreclosure problem has continued to worsen in recent years. Foreclosure sales made up 39 percent of total home sales for the state in the fourth quarter of 2011, the third-highest of any state. As a result, the Atlanta area ranks high in both short sales and foreclosure sales.

The area saw the biggest surge in short sales of all the cities on the Top 10 list, with 3,387 homes sold, up 63 percent since the same period in 2010. Short sales made up 14 percent of all home sales in the quarter, with an average price tag of $123,271. 

Short sales aren't ideal for every party. "Second lenders have the most to lose," says Blumquist. During the housing boom, many buyers took out multiple loans on their properties, supplementing bank loans with an equity line of credit. "A lot of times they’ll get something for their loan. But when a foreclosure happens all the junior liens are wiped. Unless there’s extra money in the short sale, they aren’t going to get anything back."

The same is true of a foreclosure sale, he says.

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Mark Sappenfield
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