Metro Atlanta Housing Market (Sandy Springs, Dunwoody: real estate market, condos, mortgage broker) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

'thaDOME' · 07-18-2007, 02:14 PM

Anybody has some factual input on the Metro area housing market. Mortgage rates are up, but prices are the same as they were 1 year ago.

jxu66 · 07-18-2007, 05:07 PM

Actually, some houses I was looking for last year increase price (Johns Creek, Duluth and Suwanee) by quite a bit since last year. On the other hand, some less desirable neighborhoods decrease the price.

I probably didn't answer your question. Real estate market is really depended on local specific market.

Go Blue 99 · 07-18-2007, 06:36 PM

I agree, it really depends on the town. Places like Eastern East cobb, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, etc are definitely not going down in price. There is always demand from people to live there. From what I hear, prices are going down in the distant suburbs where a lot of new construction has gone up in the past few years.

lastminutemom · 07-18-2007, 07:57 PM

I think it depends on what type of house and where. If you are looking in an area with lots of new construction -- subdivision after subdivision of new homes-- prices are probably dropping. I suspect the same is true for condos and townhomes across the metro area.

I think that in all areas homes are sitting on the market for longer. There have been some deals in normally hot areas cause people need to sale. Otherwise, they are giving up and waiting.

Realtors are being impacted by this -- if you can't sell, you probably won't be buying.

EyesToTheSkies · 07-19-2007, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'thaDOME'

Anybody has some factual input on the Metro area housing market. Mortgage rates are up, but prices are the same as they were 1 year ago.

The National Association of Realtors publishes market data each year for the Atlanta Metro area. The last report was in July of 2006. Another is due any time now. Keep an eye out for it later this month or early next. Here's last year's summary:

Metro Atlanta Home Price Analysis Reports

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The following reports are published by the National Association of REALTORS® on a periodic basis. NAR does an analysis on each of the 120 largest metropolitan markets across the country. These reports focus on the greater Metro Atlanta area. Among the most recent findings:

Home prices in the region rose at a respectable 6% in the first quarter of 2006 following a 7% rise in 2005. But there are few concerns about a price bubble or a large price correction given the highly affordable conditions in the region - particularly in relation to other large-sized metro markets.
Rising mortgage rates - roughly one percentage point increase in the past 12 months - have not significantly deterred homebuying. That is not surprising since the affordable markets are less sensitive to interest-rate changes and more dependent on job market conditions.
Job growth attracts additional potential homebuyers to the market. Furthermore, a strong positive inmigration pattern into the region suggests that any price decline will likely be short lived.

Merin · 07-19-2007, 08:24 AM

Ditto the pp's, it depends where you are looking and what you are looking at. You will most likely get a better deal on a re-sale as opposed to a new construction.

Go Blue 99 · 07-20-2007, 08:53 PM

Interesting blog entry about the real estate slowdown in Atlanta. Says it's primarily in homes under $500k:

Subprime Lending Causes Slowdown in Atlanta | Atlanta Real Estate Blog (http://www.ryanwardrealestate.com/WordPress/subprime-lending-causes-slowdown-in-atlanta/#more-72 - broken link)

lastminutemom · 07-21-2007, 05:45 AM

We ate dinner with friends last night and their oldest daughter and her husband are looking for their first home. They have narrowed their price range and geographic area. They are still totally overwhelmed because there are so many choices.

My friend called it paralyzing to have so many homes to choose from. It truly seems to be a buyers market and I think lots of buyers simply can't decide or think if they wait a little longer they can get a better deal.

'thaDOME' · 07-23-2007, 11:06 AM

Just took a homebuyer coarse this weekend to receive georgia down payment assistance funds. I spoke with a mortgage broker and which they recommended to skip that program and go with a 80/20 loan. Now just by running simple numbers i see absolutely no advantage to going with an 80/20 loan essentially skipping out on 'free money'. any opinions on this. if it matters fico is above 700.

Billdemartini · 07-23-2007, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'thaDOME'

Just took a homebuyer coarse this weekend to receive georgia down payment assistance funds. I spoke with a mortgage broker and which they recommended to skip that program and go with a 80/20 loan. Now just by running simple numbers i see absolutely no advantage to going with an 80/20 loan essentially skipping out on 'free money'. any opinions on this. if it matters fico is above 700.

Can you be more specific about the payment assistance funds? What is the difference between the 80/20 and the other program you were looking at? 20% down? 5% down?

More details please.

As far as the market I agree with what most have said here. It really depends on your price range and specifically where you are looking.