Atlanta Real Estate Blog

If you've been following mortgage rates over the last month you've likely noticed a quick and steady climb.  In fact, since a low of 4.5% on November 27th, 2009 to around 5.25% today (December 30th, 2009) they've done nothing but go up. 

What's Going On?

Mortage rates are going up.  And this rise in mortgage rates is something I've been expecting for a few months now.  Mortgage rates are on their way up, likely to 6% or more over the next few months

Why Is This Happening?

Because that's what they were about a year ago (and where they would be today) before unprecedented intervention by the Federal Reserve.  It's not the result of the economy is recovering ... the economy isn't in recovery mode.   Last year the Federal...

Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

I urge you to read, watch and take action.

The Case-Shiller data for October was released today.

Good news first: seasonally adjusted data shows a 5th consecutive increase for nationwide home prices.  

Now the bad news: continued weakness in the Atlanta market with -.2% month over month; -8.1% for the year and a whopping -19.6% since the peak of the market in April of 2007.

The good, the bad and the ugly news: depending on whether you're a buyer/investor (good), seller (bad) or lender (ugly) we have seen prices this low since May of 2001.

Market	MoM Change	YoY Change	Date of Max	Change from Max	Prices Last at This Level in…	Consec. Mos. of Increase
LA Area...

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves

Now that Christmas (and 2009) is behind us, it's time to look at "the year that was" for Intown Atlanta real estate.   The vast Intown market requires we chunk this data down to more granular levels.  It's only there, in the market-by-market comparisons, that information like this is of value. 

But to keep things simple and to lay our foundation it makes sense to take a macro view of the entire market.  From there, we can break out individual neighborhood markets in subsequent posts.

What are we looking at? 

Today, we'll look at the how 2009 compared to 2008 for the overall Intown Atlanta marketplace - that's 34 zip codes. 

We'll cover the 3 key market indicators:

1. total sales volume...

Remember last year when all the banks - the big banks - were going broke and we gave them like $700 billion with zero interest and no strings attached so they would have some money to lend back to us at between 6% and 30% interest? But we had to do it ... to avoid a world wide financial market meltdown! - Jon Stewart

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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According to the most recent report from Equity Depot (an Alpharetta based firm), the Atlanta real estate market had a record setting 117,107 foreclosures notices filed in 2009.  That's a near 50 percent increase over the previous record in 2008.

The report goes on to disclose a 10 percent increase in foreclosures compared to November (month over month) and ... get this ... a whopping 77 percent increase over December 2008 (year over year).

Gwinnett county led the pack with 2,074 foreclosure notices, close behind sits Fulton county at 2,006 notices.  Dekalb county figures came in at 1,568, Cobb at 1,203 and Clayton lagging behind major metro counties with 866.

Fulton county ended the year with 24,609 total foreclosures.

Unbelievable. 

Why the increase?

Well ... on top of the already battered residential real estate market ... the increase was spurred by a weakening commercial sector.

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Interested in buying a home in Oakhurst Atlanta? Ben shares why it just might be the right choice for you.   If you're looking for that rare combination of eclectic Intown living and family friendly atmosphere then you've found the right spot to settle down. Award winning public schools, highly developed parks and recreation services and true walking neighborhood community. Come see what Oakhurst real estate has to offer you and, while you're at it, share any questions or comments. We'd love to hear from you...
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Considering buying your first home? Maybe Kirkwood is the right neighborhood for you.  Watch Ben Keen, Buyer Specialist, break it down video style in his latest post - a driving tour of Kirkwood Atlanta real estate.  Below the video you'll find links to all Kirkwood homes for sale, neighborhood history, architecture and more.  If you have questions or comments about anything Ben is (or is not) sharing here today, use the comments section.  He'd love to hear from you...

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In the wake of the 2008 real estate meltdown lies Georgia's property tax system - in shambles.

Atlanta Home Values have plummetted but, as the AJC reports today, county tax appraisals are not along for the ride down.

In examining 550,000 residential property tax records in 5 major Metro counties (Fulton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton) it was determined county appraisals are higher - in some cases, much higher - than your property is now worth.

What Does This Mean For You?

In simple terms it means that you are, quite likely, being taxed on value your Atlanta Home no longer holds.  I'm sure this comes as no surprise.  Afterall, 2009 Atlanta property taxes have been due for some time now.  And if you were alive and owning Atlanta real estate during the last 18 months ... you don't need an 8 Day investigative report to tell you your home has lost significant value and your...