THOMASVILLE, GA (WALB) - Federal officials hope to launch a pilot program early this year to convert government-owned foreclosures into rental properties.

The program would sell foreclosed homes now owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to investors in bulk.

Thomas County real estate agent Mills Herndon says the housing market in the Thomasville area had a better year in 2011 than in 2010. "I think our inventory is somewhere around 450 units which is, it used to be 600 units."

Herndon says while he is optimistic for 2012, there is still a long way to go. "There's still a lot of foreclosures and short sales that are going to come forward this year so there's a lot of that inventory that we'll have to push out of the market."

Officials in Washington are trying alleviate the foreclosure problem by turning some of those properties into rentals.

Herndon says less than five percent of the foreclosures in Thomas County are owned by Fannie Mae. "If they turn those into rental houses, there is a rental market. I mean they will get rented and we have a big demand now for rent. For rentable properties."

Herndon says in our area, it's consumer confidence that drives the market. "Our jobs market is pretty good in Thomas County. I mean we've got a good industrial base. We're not seeing new companies move in like we would like, but neither are a lot of other communities either."

Herndon says interest rates are extremely low so now is still a great time to buy. But he says with all of the new restrictions, the biggest obstacle is getting the right financing.

According to Lender Processing Services, there are currently about two million homes nationwide in the late stages of delinquency.

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