Summary of Alabama Foreclosures in December 2010
Alabama foreclosures did rise in numbers in 2010 over the prior year of 2009. For the state, foreclosure filings totaled 19,896 properties. The number represents almost one percent of the total housing units in the state. The foreclosure ratio of 1/107 is twice the average of the foreclosure ration for the entire United States. It is an established fact that foreclosures remain a prominent problem throughout the country. There are states that are even harder hit than Alabama. The economy of the country now may be the beginning a slow economic recovery period. There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that time is what is required to heal the nation’s economy, which is of little comfort to those who are suffering through the foreclosure process. Alabama’s economy in December was basically flat. The State of Alabama ranks 23rd in the country in terms of population size. The population of the state is approximately 4.6 million people. By area, Alabama is 30th biggest state in the nation. Automobile manufacturing in Alabama has increased to improve their ranking in this category to fourth in the nation. With these statistics in mind, it pays to keep an eye on Alabama foreclosure rates, especially in the key cities.
There was not much growth and little change in unemployment rates either for the better or worse. Some Alabama cities felt more of the foreclosure crunch than the other cities. Five major cities will be examined. They are: Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Bessemer, Huntsville and Gulf Shores. All six cities experienced ncreases in foreclosures. Birmingham foreclosures were up by thirty-three percent. The average price of the foreclosures was $92,135.00. Montgomery foreclosures were up by twenty-two percent. The average price of the foreclosures was $77,305.00. Mobile foreclosures were up by nearly twenty-eight percent (27.6923%). The average price of the foreclosures was $97,370.00. Bessemer foreclosures were up by six and a half percent. The average price of the foreclosures was $96,862.00. 
Huntsville foreclosures were up twenty and a half percent. The average price of the foreclosures was $120,348.00. Gulf Shores foreclosures were up thirty-one percent. The average price of foreclosures was $231,848.00.
There was some good news for the Alabama economy as a whole for 2010 when figures were released in January for the year 2010. Layoffs that were reported totaled 6,511 jobs. The good news was that this number represents a sixty percent improvement over 2009 figures. Manufacturing is expected to rise two percent in the coming months. Automobile production forecasts an even larger increase of eight percent. All the numbers are promising, but do show a flat economy for the state coming up for the year 2011. That is much better than an economy that is down-turned and sliding in the wrong direction. The business sector is not convinced that any major up-turn in the Alabama economy is on the horizon. The lack of confidence could slow growth somewhat, but every quarter will present a chance for business confidence to grow if the numbers are there. It is apparent that Alabama foreclosures, especially in the key cities examined, have not been helped by the federal stimulus package. Only one city, Bessemer, was able to keep the foreclosure rate from climbing into double digits. Foreclosures should decrease if there are improvements in areas such as manufacturing, automobile production, healthcare and the service industries. Unemployment is not expected to rise so the future to stem the tide of Alabama foreclosures does look promising. Considering many states cannot make the same predictions of a better economy and fewer foreclosures, Alabama has placed itself in a good spot to begin the recovery process.
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