Douglas County No. 1 in State for Foreclosures

Douglas County is number one in Georgia for foreclosures, after a 44.63 percent increase in the number of foreclosure filings from December 2012 to January 2013, according to data released Wednesday by RealtyTrac.

One in every 200 housing units in the county had a foreclosure filing last month, which is up 10.82 percent from January 2012, according to the Douglas County Sentinel.

During 2012 as a whole, Douglas County ranked fourth in the state for foreclosures. It may be the area.

Carroll County ranked third in Georgia with one in every 240 housing units in foreclosure. Paulding County is 12th in the state with one in every 318 units in foreclosure.

RealtyTrac’s numbers show 147 houses up for auction in January in Douglas County and 109 properties owned by the bank.

Georgia ranks fifth in the nation with one foreclosure filing for every 513 housing units, which is up 12.8 percent from Dec. 2012, but down 36.47 percent from Jan. 2012, according to the Sentinel.

Nationally, home sales are up. U.S. foreclosures were down 11 percent from the previous month and down 28 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since June 2006  — a 79-month low.

Florida is No. 1 in the country with one in every 223 housing units with a foreclosure filing.