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Everyone’s Questions About Real Estate & the Economy - 2009-08-02 |
Last week I had the privilege of visiting with the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce, listening to their concerns and answering as best I could their many questions about our real estate market and the economy in general. While feeling the recession like everyone else, these entrepreneurs and business executives from west metro Atlanta are determined not only weather the current storm, but to emerge stronger on the other side. Their questions covered these topics:
Q: How is the real estate market doing in metro Atlanta, and when can we expect to see some visible signs of improvement?
A: The market is hurting. We have a glut of homes for sale, both new and resale, all over the metro area, and buyers are taking their own sweet time in deciding whether or not they want to take the plunge. From a purchaser's perspective, interest rates are low and sellers are quite willing to negotiate. But lenders have seriously tightened their approval requirements, and unless you have a large cash downpayment or perfect credit (or both), it may be difficult to obtain the financing you seek.
To complicate matters, many neighborhoods in metro Atlanta are littered with vacant bank-owned homes. Some are actively being marketed, some are just sitting empty, many are eyesores and almost all are deteriorating quickly and dragging down property values. And just to pour salt on the wound, lenders have ordered appraisers to include distress sales of foreclosed homes to their list of comparable sales, even though they are not indicative of typical buyer behavior. Until the inventory of bank owned homes declines, our market can not fully recover.
Q: When will things start to improve?
A: For this question, I prefer to yield to Federal Reserve Chair Bernanke, who said recently that he saw "signs of stabilization" in the housing industry, and that he believed that the recession would be over by the end of this year. I reminded the group that Mr. Bernanke is a man of few words, and that those few words are often intentionally vague.
As for the Atlanta real estate market, some agents I am talking to tell me that houses inside the perimeter are generally selling faster and for more money than similar homes outside 404 land. Additionally, local bankers are cautioning that the commercial real estate market may have some crying to do before this recession is over.
I reminded the group of two important facts:
* We are not in a depression, and any comparison to the 1930's is extravagant exaggeration; and
* These things tend to come and go in cycles, and we are likely nearing the end of this recession. Anyone offering a more specific prediction is only guessing.
Questions or comments?
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Upcoming Events
"EPA CERTIFIED RENOVATOR" TRAINING
Do You Work with Real Estate? You Must Be LEAD SAFE CERTIFIED as of April 22nd.
To all owners, realtors, investors, property managers, contractors, electricians, plumbers and painters. Do you ever engage in any level of renovation? If so, read this:
Any renovator, from owners to contractors, from plumbers to electricians to painters, who disturbs lead paint while working in a pre-1978 home, school or day care center, now must be Lead-Safe Certified. If you’re not, you can face tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Plus, you put the health of yourself, your workers and your customers at risk, which could result in lawsuits. One simple 8 hour class certifies you for five years. It’s that easy.
Since April 22, 2010, there are new Federal rules regarding how you perform any work that disturbs lead-based paint in homes, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978. You now must be EPA certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.
Failure to follow the new rules can result in federal fines of up to $32,500 per day or up to 5 years in federal prison, or both. Don’t take a chance - it’s not worth it.
How To Become an EPA Certified Renovator:
In just one day, John Adams will teach you how to meet all EPA requirements and become an “EPA Certified Renovator.”
Don’t wait - register now! Click on “Seminars” and choose your day!
- Friday, July 30th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 06th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 13th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 20th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road
and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
- Friday, August 27th at Suburban Plaza, 2643 North Decatur Road
and Church Street, Decatur , Lower Level, beneath Hancock Fabrics
8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M.
Total Course Cost: $295, includes exam and EPA-HUD 400 page manual
Space is limited to 20 participants.
Training services provided by Seagull Environmental Management Co, Inc.
Courses are approved for purposed of certification under Section 402 of TSCA for the Certified Renovator.
This course has been approved by the Georgia Real Estate Commission for 7 hours of Real Estate Continuing Education
For more information, call toll-free 888-373-0029
Click above on the "Seminars" button to register
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John Adams Presents
“The MetroVestAtlanta.com REO Bus Tour”
Get on the bus for a tour of South DeKalb County’s “Real Estate Owned”
homes. Each house you visit will be available that day for purchase at
a giveaway price, regardless of current condition. Financing is
available!
Throughout the day, we will hear from mortgage providers, people in the
construction business and property managers all discussing today’s
situation with Bank Owned REO properties.
Who Should Attend: Investors, Realtors, Lenders, Prospective Buyers, and
anyone who might want to buy a super-bargain house and either do the
rehab themselves or have all the work performed by the pros.
You will see abandoned dumps and finished products, and everything
in between. And Snap will be there to answer all your questions and
explain the rehab and rental strategies.
Saturday, August 21st, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Your $49 fee includes the bus tour and lunch. You must make reservations. No walk-ups.
There is limited seating and the seats are filling fast. ACT NOW before you miss the bus.
We will be meeting at Suburban Plaza, 2643 N. Decatur Road and Church Street, Lower Level, Decatur 30033 (beneath Hancock Fabrics, in the arcade.)
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