According to a recent report, foreclosures appear to be increasing in the South. Foreclosure.com 2006 Mid-year Market Analysis listed five southern states in its top ten highest foreclosure rates to date.

The list included, in order: Georgia, Indiana, Colorado, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Utah.

In addition, six-month housing market analysis reveals that Tennessee is rapidly moving up the list for mortgage foreclosures. Another report indicates that Florida and Georgia are foreclosure hotspots, and points to possible predatory lending as the cause.

"At mid-July, almost 30,000 properties in Florida are in some stage of foreclosure," said Foreclosure.com president Alexis McGee. "A third of those are in south Florida."

McGee continued in saying that rising interest rates and a cooling housing market are driving the increase in foreclosures.

"In Atlanta, for example, the inventory of unsold homes has grown by 28.2% to 43,862 over the last six months. The foreclosure pace in Georgia is almost double what it was in May of 2005."

The situation appears to be elevated due to the widespread usage of exotic mortgage products in the past five years. So-called option adjustable rate mortgages with teaser rates and high negative amortization have caused many homeowners to lose their homes, said McGee.

"People bought homes they really couldn't afford, and now they're losing them as these loans reset to market rates and they can't find affordable refinancing options."