They all say buy now. 

As is typical, Keller Williams is leading the charge with more valuable statistics and views on our real estate market.  This is a great short and sweet 6-minute update one what’s going on.  You should see this.

The “Jewel of the South,” as many have called Atlanta, refuses to be denied.  With an influx in population due to steady job growth, Atlanta earns the #10 spot in a recent Forbes Magazine article. 

This just in case you were about to jump off the cliff after listening to the national real estate update on the news.  You really have to filter the news when anything is reported as a national statistic or trend.  You wouldn’t listen and believe a weatherman if he told you it was going to be sunny over the entire United States tomorrow, would you?  How is that any different from the real estate market?

Certainly be thankful you are in a growing city like Atlanta, where there will always be demand for housing.  What is down, won’t be down long.

In another sign that the government is going to do whatever it takes to get us out of this mess, the Fed rate was cut again last week, which has created another dip in mortgage interest rates.  Despite tighter lending requirements, this market is going to make a lot of smart people a lot of smart money.  Smart money is already starting to move in.  Our phones are buzzing over these historically low rates, depressed home values and inflated inventory levels.  If you have been considering buying a home, now is without a doubt the time to explore it further.  If you have been considering buying a second home, now is the time to explore it further.  If you have been considering selling and moving up, now is the time to explore it further.  If you have been considering refinancing, now is definitely the time to consider it.   We are very skilled at interpreting the market, getting homes sold quickly, and finding amazing opportunities for our clients.  Let us show you how to maximize this market.

Considering what’s going on in the real estate market, you have a tremendous opportunity.  This opportunity requires you to make a decision though!  You have to decide if you are going to be a pioneer or a settler.  No, you’re not playing a game of Oregon Trail so calm down you children of the 80’s.  So what’s the difference and what are you?

pi⋅o⋅neer   [pahy-uh-neer] - one who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress: pioneers in cancer research.

set⋅tler  [set-ler, -l-er] - one who establishes himself in a new region.

A pioneer in this real estate market is quite honestly a smart buyer, keeping in mind that the money to be made in real estate is not in the up time.  It’s all about buying low and selling high in those up times.  If you’re one of the few who is buying a primary residence with no other strings attached (such as, not owning another home somewhere else and/or having the good fortune of selling your previous home), words can’t describe the opportunity before you.  You can be a pioneer by simply buying smart.  Many homebuyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see just how low things can go.  I believe at the end of the day those folks will be very sorry considering inventories are high (although falling and showing promise of a turnaround) and rates are in the low 5% range (and sure to rise). 

If you already have a home which you are bound to for various reasons or maybe you have no desire to move, you can be a pioneer too.  Investment property, which I have talked about previously, is a golden opportunity for you to actually experience a return on investment RIGHT NOW.  Have you looked at your 401(k) or securities accounts lately?  Returns?  What’s that?  Learn the value of cash flow, buy an investment property, build equity, and sleep well at night Mr. Pioneer.

The alternative is to be a settler, the person that follows the market and the crowd.  When it’s just about to crest, you are buying and following those clever pioneers.  The bad news is that crest soon turns into a valley, and there goes your profit, your equity, or even worse your property.  Sure, you can make money as a settler, but literally every day you wait costs you money. 

As your real estate consultants, our job is to advise you and keep your home search or home sale “between the ditches,” as my grandfather used to say, teaching me to drive his old truck on dirt roads in south Georgia.  Simply put, we win when you win, and that includes finding values, negotiating values, and facilitating a smooth transaction.  The moral of the story is, as in all of life, you have a decision to make.  If you can afford to do so, be a pioneer.  Your long term wealth will thank you for it later.

As always, we’d love to be your home base for all your pioneering needs.

If you get the Metro Atlanta Real Estate Update from us then you have already received a peek at the falling mortgage rates.  If you are not getting the Metro Atlanta Real Estate Update, first of all WHY?  Second of all, there’s always time to get signed up.  Email me at andy@thepeterscomany.com for the weekly email update on all things relating to our market.

The Fed was looking for a way to expand lending, and the expanded rescue has done just that.  Mortgage rates tumbled as much as a half of a percent on Tuesday and are the lowest they have been all year.  The Peters Company has been calling this for months, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  People are swarming to refinance as the volatility leaves everyoe worried that this is a small blip and that the rates will surely jump back up.  I wouldn’t play around if you are considering refinancing.  Sure, the rates could go lower, and they probably will slowly.  However, I’m not willing to take the chance given where we are in the low 5% range.

So, what does this opportunity to refinance mean for the economy?  Well, perhaps the best thing is that it potentially frees up more money for consumer spending, which is something very much on the minds of all of us churning towards the holidays.  The auto industry could use a little bit of that money I believe, but perhaps the best thing that could come of this is to fight off continued talk of a recession.  On this eve of Thanksgiving, lets all be thankful that our government is being proactive in its attempts to navigate the financial storm.  As always, we will come out of this stronger, and hopefully wiser.  Hold on to your seat.  Don’t get too high, and don’t get too low.  Keep thinking like a buyer, and Happy Thanksgiving.

For more information on the good news, click here for more from the Wall Street Journal, and go lock some rates if you are floating!

Sometimes real estate agents actually have time to look at real estate for themselves.  It’s true.  Believe it or not.  We just closed our 20th transaction of 2008 last week, and we had a day to exhale.  So what did we do with our couple hours of solace?  Lesley and I perused rental property, of course.  And why not?  Rates are pushing towards 5.5%.  Inventory is still high at over 12 months’ worth.  The winter months are upon us when everyone is expecting slower activity.  I honestly believe that lower offers will be considered during this time because the likely alternative for sellers is waiting until the spring when the wave of buyers wakes up and hops in the car with agents.  I expect the Spring to be a different market for the better in our industry, which leaves us in a deep valley through the cold winter.

Do we need a second home?  Do we need a rental property?  Of course not.  Real estate investing takes a lot more time than traditional investment paths.  However, when you consider dumping your money in the topsy turvy stock market or hiding it in a low yielding money market account, real estate investing looks more and more favorable.  Right this minute you can buy with as little as 5% down and cash flow a property on a rental.  Are we all crazy for not considering it?   The valley won’t last.

So, what does a good rental property look like?  How do you find them?  Thanks to a recent article in AJC from John Adams.  Here’s an exceprt that gives a great roadmap:

Prime candidates for a rental program would be houses that were less than 10 years old and have recently been through the foreclosure process. Because of the slow-selling market and the bad loan on the house, it now is being marketed as a “bank-owned” home. Most lenders require that buyers accept their foreclosures in “as-is” condition, and that the lender not be required to disclose any defects or problem areas. Because these preconditions are unacceptable to today’s picky retail buyers, the banks have been forced to lower their prices on many of these houses.

Today’s ideal rental house would have three bedrooms and two baths, would be purchased for well under $100,000, would require less than $10,000 in repairs, and would be located in a neighborhood of primarily owner-occupants. Proximity to a major employer would be icing on the cake. Such a house could be purchased and repaired, then placed in service with rent approaching $1,000 per month. Then the investor could recoup his total investment in a new fixed-rate loan, and still end up with a monthly profit of $200 or more.

Unfortunately, recent Fannie Mae restrictions have prevented the majority of experienced investors from participating in this activity. These restrictions have slowed the absorption of foreclosed homes in the Atlanta residential market. Specifically, no applicant for a rental property mortgage can be approved if the applicant already shows four or more home loans on his credit report.

The moral of the story?  Don’t have more than 3 rental properties.  Just kidding.  The moral of the story is make sure you purchase a home that cash flows.  There are plenty of avenues for consumers to find these opportunities.  A great place to start is our Home Page > Find a Home > Search.  For a more detailed search, Lesley or myself would be happy to set you up using one of our tools called “Client Gateway.”  Client Gateway is an automated search using criteria you determine where the lastest listings that meet the need are automatically emailed to you.  We find this tool to be incredibly helpful for clients who are specific in their search and need to drill down a little bit more than the typical web searches.

Don’t be afraid to at least look at what’s out there.  I can assure you that the real estate investor community is looking, and that includes these real estate agents.  Happy hunting, and let us know how we can help.

Keller Williams produces and distributes very useful information.  The video included below is a nice review of the national market for the month of October including statistics and in depth analysis.  I encourage you to take a look if you are interested in the macro view of the real estate market.  Keep in mind that our goal is to ALWAYS keep you up to date with the micro view in the metro Atlanta area.  You will see local statistics scattered between here, our mailings, our email updates, our Facebook update group, and our Active Rain blog.

Perhaps one of the greatest statistics:  If interest rates go up 1% that represents a 10% increase in the purchase price.  Interest rates are incredibly low and fell again last week.  Don’t wait too long to take advantage of this prime opportunity to buy your first home, your first investment property, or move up.

My business card reads Realtor, not Psychic.  Nobody knows when the turnaround will occur in the real estate market for sure.  It’s been said that you don’t know when you’ve reached the bottom until things start to go back up again.  On a national level, I’ve heard “experts” say the end of the first quarter.  I’ve heard middle of the year.  Economists at the National Association of Home Builders semi annual forecast conference suggested that home prices will hit bottom in the middle of next year as a result of increasingly affordable prices, new home incentives, fewer housing starts, declining interest rates and pent-up demand (Wall Steet Journal, June Fletcher 10/29/08).  We really are blessed in Atlanta.  Recent data from ChartMaster is positive suggesting a turnaround is ocurring right now in metro Atlanta.

Home inventory in the metro area appears to have reached a bottom.  The months supply of homes has come down every month since July of 2008 after a steady climb at the beginning of the year.  Do you see the bottom?

The rate of decline in number of homes sold vs. the same quarter one year earlier accelerated during early 2007.  However, the rate of decline from the previous year reversed after the first quarter of this year.  Do you see the bottom?

All we can do is deal with the hands we are dealt.  Make lemonade out of lemons.  Make mole hills out of mountains.  Put on our big boy drawers…Whatever cliche you want to use.  The good news is that it can’t get much worse.  The election will most likely bring some stability to our economy, no matter who is elected.  Rates will go up a little further in the very short term and then fall in the long term once the dust settles in my opinion.  The government is trying to spur on refinances of troubled mortgages, which should help stave off a percentage of the foreclosures rushing through the market.  In the meantime, be opportunistic if you are a buyer or investor, and if you are a seller, play the percentages and think like a buyer.

As always if we can help you in any way, it would be our pleasure.

In today’s market, it’s hard to look at property in ANY price range and not find at least one short sale.  I came across a Business Week article online that’s a good resource for short sells, answering fundamental questions you may have about these type opportunities for both buyers and sellers needing help. 

We all hear the news and read the newspapers that proclaim the doom and gloom of the real estate market.  I’m hear to tell you that in Atlanta, it’s not as bad as advertised.  However, as a buyer, it is in your best interest to understand the new opportunities out there such as short sales and certainly foreclosures.  They are not all good “deals” for buyers since they aren’t all priced at the bottom as a bargain, but the main point to get across is that the process in making an offer and procuring these type properties is different than your traditional real estate transaction.  It requires a little more patience on your part if you were to go out making offers on these type properties.  We describe it as a “high risk, high reward” opportunity. 

On the sellers’ side, we are recommeding many inquiring sellers seek the approval of short sale status if they are incredibly upside down on their home and in deep need of selling.  It’s a tragedy that it reaches that level, but it is definitely better than a foreclosure.  A closing attorney once told me as I was signing my name a million times at a closing table that in Georgia the bank can take your home in a process that is “quick and painful.”  It’s true.  Explore all your options if you are in jeopardy of losing your home, which definitely includes gaining approval on a short sale.