Keller Williams Realty Atlanta – Peachtree Road

Atlanta Homes For Sale – Atlanta Real Estate News - Atlanta Home Buyers

This Month in Real Estate For U.S. Market for September 2011

However, most aspiring homeowners are held back by two main factors: funds for a down payment (82%) and confidence in their job security (80%). Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke emphasized the importance of a healthy housing market to a robust recovery. He stressed the adverse effects of tighter credit conditions for borrowers, urging Congress to take tax and policy measures to help stabilize the market. He also noted the significance of addressing long-term fiscal policies including debt levels, upcoming expenses to support an aging population, and taxes.

Buyers continue to benefit from historically favorable buying conditions, and sellers are encouraged by increased market stability. Although the Fed made a commitment to keep its interest rate at the current level until mid-2013, mortgage rates can, and often do, still fluctuate. In the midst of these reports, it is important to keep in mind the path to recovery was always expected to be a long and uneven road. As we progress toward a stronger recovery, economic improvement typically spurs rising interest rates in order to keep inflation in line.

Home Sales(in millions):

Home sales in July were up by 21% from the same month last year  when the expiration of the tax credit resulted in a significant drop in sales. However, they were down 3.5% compared to June. This could be due in part to NAR’s report that 16% of members experienced a contract failure from issues in underwriting and appraisals during July. NAR President Ron Phipps states, “For both mortgage credit and home appraisals, there’s been a parallel pendulum swing from very loose standards, which led to the housing boom, to unnecessarily restrictive practices as an overreaction to the housing correction.”

Home Price(in thousands):

Home prices dipped by less than 1% in July with median home price at $174,000. This is 4.5% below the year-ago level which followed a strong spring season of sales driven by the tax credit. Median home prices remain close to 2002–2003 levels. Distressed sales continue to count for almost 1 in 3 homes sold. The combination of low prices and record-breaking low interest rates means that home affordability is extremely favorable.

Inventory- Month’s Supply(in months):

The supply of homes measured in months on the market at their current pace of sales was up slightly during July compared to June. This is in keeping with historical trends, which show that inventory levels typically rise during the summer months. The month’s supply remained 25% below the peak of 12.5 months in July 2010 and 13% above April of 2010 when the home buyer tax credit was in full swing.

Interest Rates:

Mortgage rates hit a new record low in August of 4.15%, primarily due to uncertainty in the global and domestic economies. While these incredible rates represent a significant savings for home buyers, experts note that for the benefits to be fully realized, lending conditions must loosen to enable more buyers to take advantage of them. As overall economic activity gets back on track, rates will likely rise to keep inflation in check. In other words, the window of opportunity for buyers to lock in these historically low interest rates will not last forever.

Source: Freddie Mac

Topics For Atlanta Home Buyers & Atlanta Home Sellers:

As the weather gets cooler in Atlanta, some Atlanta homeowners could be considering undertaking home renovations or updates before the holiday season. Here are a few findings about updates and home sales:

1. Homeowners typically spend considerably more on updates to their home when planning to live in and enjoy it, with an average of nearly $9,000.
2. In contrast, they only spend an average of $3,400 when making updates in preparation to sell.
3. The most common updates sellers performed before listing were paint, flooring, and light fixtures.
4. Although the majority of buyers were least likely to compromise on the location, 16% were least likely to compromise on updates.
5. 75% of homes sold were either fairly updated or very updated.
6. Sellers began repairing their home 1 to 8 weeks in advance of listing.

Source: KW Market Navigator and KW Research

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Keller Williams Realty – Atlanta Market Update: 

 

 Atlanta Housing Market Hit Bottom in Third Quarter

Metrostudy: ATL housing market hit bottom in Q3

Atlanta Business Chronicle(11-5-09)

“Atlanta’s housing market has hit a bottom,” said Eugene James, director of Metrostudy’s Atlanta division. “Almost all housing indicators have reversed and are now heading in a positive direction. Finished inventory has been reduced to a level where builders have been forced to resume building new homes.”

This September, Atlanta’s finished inventory was reduced to about 11,000 units, which is a 37 percent decline from September 2008 and a 48 percent decline from September 2007, according to Metrostudy. Finished vacant housing inventory is one of the fundamental indicators Metrostudy uses to monitor the health of the market.

Closings have surpassed starts for three years now. Plus, the gap between new-home sales and starts has widened each quarter.

In the third quarter of 2009, annual closings totaled 14,980, while annual starts totaled 4,748 in metro Atlanta. Total net absorption was 7,060, with more homes sold than built and delivered during the 12 months ending in September 2009. The result is depletion of finished housing inventory, James said.

The reduction of inventory has encouraged Atlanta builders to switch gears during the third quarter and instead of slowing the pace of starts, they started more homes than in the previous quarter. James said the uptick in starts was a bright spot in the market. Atlanta builders started 1,152 homes in the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 17 percent compared to second-quarter starts.

“At 12.8 months, the new-home supply situation looks worse than it is,” James said. “We do not have an oversupply problem, we have a demand problem. The months-of-supply figure is inflated because of the unusually slow closings pace. As demand returns to the market, the months-of-supply figure will normalize.”

Demand has been hampered by the difficulty home buyers have qualifying for mortgages. Credit remains very tight, challenging both home buyers and builders. Continued job losses and high unemployment also hurt consumer confidence, James said. Demand for new homes will grow when the job market improves.

Despite poor demand, as evidenced by only 3,534 closings during the third quarter, the months of supply for finished housing declined from the second quarter. It was the first quarter-over-quarter decline in months of supply of finished homes in four years.

Metrostudy expects the months of supply will continue to decline in coming quarters.

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