Atlanta home values increased 10% in July

Article via:
Jacques Couret
Senior Online Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle

Metro Atlanta saw double-digit home values appreciation in July, the monthly Zillow Home Value Index shows.

The average home value here was $123,900 -- up 10.1 percent compared with July 2012 and up 2.2 percent from June 2013.

Nationally, home values grew 6 percent year-over-year in July, marking the 14th straight month of annual appreciation and the first time year-over-year appreciation rates have reached 6 percent since 2006. The average U.S. home is worth $161,600.

“After three straight months of annual home value appreciation above 5 percent, the U.S. housing market recovery has proven it is on very sound footing,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries, in a statement. “We have entered a new phase in the recovery when we can begin to turn away from ugly recent history and turn toward what the housing market of the future will look like and how it will act. The time to have these discussions is now, and recent efforts by President Obama and both parties in the House and Senate to begin addressing still-lingering structural issues related to housing finance are very encouraging.”

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Sat Aug 24th: Real Estate Week Seminar w/ Egypt Sherrod of V-103 and HGTV

V-103 and Georgia’s Own Credit Union present the V-103 Real Estate Week. As the housing market begins to rebound and interest rates stay low NOW is the time to consider being a home owner, refinancing or investing in rental property. Listen up all week long the week of August 19th as V-103’s Egypt Sherrod, a licensed Real Estate expert and host of HGTV’s Property Virgins will discuss everything about the home buying process! Get informed and educated and get out of the “renter’s trap” and become a home owner.
We’ll be talking about credit advice – Are you financially fit, Obtaining the loan – All the Facts, Finding your home – Realtor or Not, Home Inspections and Closing on your home and more! And be sure to mark the Real Estate Week seminar on your calendar….Saturday, August 24th, 1p-4p at the Rich Auditorium at the Woodruff Arts Center. Real Estate Week brought to you by Georgia’s Own Credit Union and the People’s Station, V-103.

Sat Aug 24, 2013

Sat 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

High Museum of Art

1280 Peachtree Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30309

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Mortgage rates have steadied

Jeff Clabaugh

Broadcast/Web Reporter- Washington Business Journal

After jumping more than one full percentage point in early May, 30-year mortgage rates have stabilized, moving little since then.

Freddie Mac's weekly rate report says the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.40 percent in the week ending Aug. 8, up from 4.39 percent last week. A 15-year fix average 3.43 percent, unchanged from last week.

A one-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.62 percent this week, down from 2.64 percent.
The National Association of Realtors says the recent rise in rates is having little impact on housing sales, or rising home values.

In the second quarter, NAR says the median price of an existing home that sold was up 12.2 percent from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year gain since the end of 2005.

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HGTV Casting Call (Renovation Couple)

Below is a casting call for a show produced for HGTV.

CASTING CALL: RENOVATION COUPLE

Departure Films is seeking a couple or family for a new home renovation series for a major cable network. We are looking for recent home purchasers in the METRO ATLANTA, GEORGIA area who are about to renovate their new investment.

Casting is open to couples and/or families who have recently closed on a new home (or are about to) and we are particularly interested in hearing from couples who are ready to start renovations almost immediately!

In exchange for participation in the show, the chosen couple will receive funds to assist in making their new home renovation dreams come true!

Please send a bio about yourselves; detailed information on the home you have, or soon will, purchase; your basic renovation ideas and estimated budget; and property address, purchase price, and any available pictures to: Karen@departure-films.com

President Obama Discusses Plans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

A version of this article appeared in print on August 7, 2013, on page A3 of the New York edition with the headline: Obama Backs Limits to U.S. Role in Mortgages.


PHOENIX — President Obama hailed both this city’s and the country’s comeback from the housing bust on Tuesday, and said it was now time to reduce the federal role and risk in the mortgage market “to make sure the kind of crisis we went through never happens again.”

He proposed to “wind down” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for the first time outlining his approach to overhauling the two giant mortgage-finance companies that were taken over by the government when they failed nearly five years ago. The companies, which Mr. Obama described in an appearance here as “not really government, but not really private sector,” recently began to repay taxpayers.

“For too long, these companies were allowed to make big profits buying mortgages, knowing that if their bets went bad, taxpayers would be left holding the bag,” the president said. “It was ‘heads we win, tails you lose.’ ”

 

Since early 2011, the administration has voiced support for overhauling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which long benefited from an implicit government guarantee. Years ago the companies came to symbolize a self-dealing Washington culture beneficial to both parties, and especially Democrats, but Mr. Obama’s remarks on what comes next were his most specific. For several years, the administration held back from revamping the mortgage-finance system for fear of rattling a weakened market.

 

Mr. Obama on Tuesday endorsed the thrust of bipartisan legislation from a Senate group that would “end Fannie and Freddie as we know them.” The so-called government-sponsored enterprises for decades bought and sold mortgages from financial institutions to provide money for the banks to keep lending to home buyers.

 

Under Mr. Obama’s principles, which he said were reflected in the Senate bill taking shape, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would further shrink their portfolios and lose the implicit guarantee of a federal government bailout. Instead, private investors....

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Wall Street Journal: Atlanta luxury condo market heats up

Luxury high-rises are making a comeback in Atlanta.

Georgia’s home closing costs among nation’s highest

We are currently experiencing a strong sellers market for the first time in years. That being said homes in the Atlanta area are not sitting on the market very long. On average, properties are currently going under contract within only 8 days of being listed. When sellers are in the driver's seat of the transaction this typically means they are much less likely to negotiate price or agree to contingencies such as assisting with closing cost. So buyers be prepared to bring your wallets to the closing table....especially here in Georgia!

Jacques Couret a Senior Online Editor at the Atlanta Business Chronicle explains in his recent article below or Click here for original article

If you were lucky enough to buy or sell a house this year in Georgia, your closing costs were the 12th highest in the nation.

Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) ranked each state by its average closing costs based on online good faith estimates for a $200,000 mortgage with a 20 percent down payment.

Georgia is 12th highest with $1.816 in lender’s origination fees and $674 in third-party fees for a total of $2,490 in closing fees. The peach State was 11th highest in 2012.

PRICES ARE UP WHILE INVENTORY IS DOWN

Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

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