In 2009, 18,817 properties worth at least $1 million faced foreclosure. That’s up 162 percent from 2008, reported foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac.

Prices of $1 million-plus properties are down about 25 percent since 2007 with an increasing number of desperate home owners choosing auction sales over waiting for years for the right buyer to come along.

“Any home owner selling in this economy is on the market because they have to be,” says John Brian Losh, CEO of LuxuryRealEstate.com, a Web site that specializes in high-end properties. “If they’re frustrated and they can’t figure out why they haven’t gotten any offers, they might think an auction will generate some interest.”

Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (02/11/2010)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta
315 West Ponce de Leon Ave., Ste. 100
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 431-2117
Web: www.elliottyouragent.com
Blog – www.elliottonrealestate.com
Twitter – http://twitter.com/elliottrob

There are more than 60,000 homes priced above $1 million listed on Realtor.com with the inventory at levels far above the national average of 10 months.

Some observers predict that big inventories in formerly protected enclaves will drive down prices as much as average prices fell in less-pricey metros a year ago. “Any [inventory] over seven months generally means falling prices,” says David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv in Brookfield, Wis.

Multi-million dollar communities with significant risk of taking big slides are:

1. Incline Village-Crystal Bay, Nev.
2. New Vernon, N.J.
3. Alpine, N.J.
4. Sagaponack, N.Y.
5. Amagansett, N.Y.
6. Bridgehampton, N.Y.
7. Ross, Calif.
8. Old Westbury, N.Y.
9. Santa Barbara, Calif.
10. Southampton, N.Y.

Source: Forbes, Stephanie Fitch and Matthew Woolsey (07/13/2009)

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Elliott Robinson, JD – Associate Broker
Adams Realtors
458 Cherokee Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
(o) 404-688-1222