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Category Archives: buyers

Gwinnett County Homestretch… Again…

Friday, 26 August 2011 08:00
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I wrote a post a few months ago about the Gwinnett County Homestretch Program.  It is a REALLY cool program for buyers with qualified incomes.  The actual caps change regularly, but follow HUD limits.  Buyers also have to go through a financial counseling class.

But the end result is that buyers get $7,500 in Down Payment Assistance.  This is money that does NOT need to be repaid, as long as the buyer stays in the home at least 5 years.

Earlier in the year, when I wrote the post, funds were available even for existing home owners, not just first time home buyers.  Since that time, Gwinnett County has changed that… they ran out of funds for existing home owners.  But they still have plenty of funds available for first time home buyers (remember, to qualify as a first time home buyer, you can’t have owned a home for the last three years).  BTW, please don’t think that there is a way around that by not having a spouse on the title or something.  It doesn’t work…

In order to qualify, the buyer needs to have $1000 in the deal.  I recently was asked what qualified as part of the $1000…  Did the inspection count?  Did the earnest money count?  I wasn’t asked about the appraisal…  Here are the short answers.

  • The inspection doesn’t count.  I ALWAYS recommend that buyers get an inspection, but it isn’t part of the $1000 that the buyer has “in the deal.”
  • The appraisal DOES count.  It is a requirement, and it is a closing cost.  The funds CAN be used to pay closing costs.
  • The earnest money is actually like a security deposit.  It is money credited toward the closing and/or down payment, so therefore it DOES count.

One thing to keep in mind… money can NOT flow back to the buyer at closing.  Even if they overpay closing costs, they can’t be refunded at closing.  Ken Cook (of America Home Key) and I have been through the rules and know how the program works.  If you want to see if YOU qualify, contact us.

 

We’d love to help you buy a home.  There are great deals on the market right now, and interest rates are exceptional.  For more info, click here. There are other Down Payment Assistance programs available around the Metro Atlanta area.

Here is my video from the original post.

Wayback Wednesday… Police Response, 15 Minutes…

Wednesday, 24 August 2011 08:00
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Special Response Team of the US Mint Police

Image via Wikipedia

Every job has it’s hazards, and one of the ones we face in real estate is the occasional police call…  and my last one was two years ago this week.  It was an alarm.  It has happened a couple of times.

It actually happened twice on the same house on different days.  I wrote the post, and then we went back out to look at the house a second time… my buyer was pretty serious about it.  The seller had actually changed the code between our visits.  So, even though I had left the information in the lockbox (per the Listing Agent’s request) it was wrong.  The seller also didn’t bother to tell the agent that they had changed the code. Gee… thanks.

On the second call, the exact same officer showed up.  He didn’t even stop the car.  Rather, he recognized us, made a radio call and just rolled by, waving to us out of the window.  I guess we had made him pretty comfortable with us on the previous visit.

Should I also mention that the house was vacant and cleaned out?  There wasn’t much to steal… but vandals could have had a field day stripping out copper.  I understand the fears on the part of the seller, but they were actually making it difficult to show their home.

For sellers, the piece of advice I would pass along is this…  Make your house easy to show.  Communicate with your agent if you are changing alarm codes, and trust your agent to have a fail-safe code if the normal one is lost. 

 

Picture of the

Image via Wikipedia

For buyers, I would say this…  Stuff happens.  Keep a cool head.  Your agent should be cool under pressure, too, but ii helps if you aren’t flipping out.  

 

And for other agents…  You are the pro.  Don’t get flustered.  Getting angry won’t help.  No person involved in this little event woke up that morning looking to pee in your oatmeal.  Stuff just happens.  If it is an alarm, walk outside, relax, gather up any papers you might need and stay in view.  Keep your buyers calm and with you. 

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Mortgage Rates Lowest in 50 Years… according to Freddie Mac

Friday, 19 August 2011 08:00
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Freddie Mac

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Freddie Mac issued their Primary Mortgage Market Survey yesterday, and the rates are unbelievable.  Let me click off a few quotes from the Press Release.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.15 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 18, 2011, down from last week when it averaged 4.32 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.42 percent.

15-year FRM this week averaged 3.36 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.50 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.90 percent.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.08 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.13 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.56 percent.

1-year Treasury-indexed ARMaveraged 2.86 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.89 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.53 percent.

I guess that is the upside of economic stagnation.  And when combined with the amazing prices on homes in the market right now, it makes for a GREAT time to buy property.  Assuming that you don’t have to sell first.

And that is the flip side.  Many would be buyers are sidelined because they can’t afford to sell their current home.  The best they can hope for is to re-finance with the low rates… of course, that isn’t helping those that have a need to relocate.

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Norcross, GA, Market Report, June 2011

Monday, 08 August 2011 08:00
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DSCN0584

Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Market stats for Norcross GA, June, 2011 indicate that there were 360 properties on the market (385 for May). Overall, there is about a 5.8 month supply of properties (7.2 months last month). This year has been very strong so far… although it has slowed the last two months… it hasn’t slowed much.  June saw 85 sales, WAY above the 52 for May and the 62 for last June, and with the decrease in listing inventory the Absorption Rate (AR) built more strength.  This is one of the few market areas in Gwinnett to post five strong months in a row.

In the sub-$200k arena, there were 208 listings (225 last month), with about 4.1 month supply (5.4 for May).  Sales are up sharply from a year ago in this segment, which is the main driver of sales in this area (68 v 38).  For the last three months, the AR has been tilted in favor of sellers… it got a little more so, this month.  This looks like the strongest price/area segment in Gwinnett County, GA.

Between $200k and $400k, there were 152 listings for sale (120 in May), and about 18.2 months of supply (last month it was 18.0).  As strong as the under $200k segment is… this one is weak.  The 15 sales were a drop from last year’s 18 sales, but a good bump from last month’s 7 sales.  Of course, this segment has always seemed to lag.

From $400k to $600k, there were 44 homes on the market (34 last month). The absorption rate is around 16.5 months (8.5 in May).  The Absorption Rate has been dropped for 5 months, then shot WAY up this month.  June’s 1 sale is down from 5 the month before and last year’s 4 sales… and the inventory increase didn’t really help.

In the $600k to $800k arena, there were 8 listing on the market (1 last month).  Inventories had decreased as sales have increased compared to last year.  The absorption rate is at 12 months of inventory (1.5 last month, but only 1 listing)… but with only 4 sales last year and then the sale in March and another each in May and June, obviously it is easy to bump one way or the other. The ONLY reason for the strong looking Absorption Rate last month was that there was only 1 listing.  

The range from $800k to $1m, there was 1 homes listed on the market and no sales… seemingly forever.

Above $1m, there were 4 properties listed.  But because of the smaller numbers of sales, the absorption rate could be significantly impacted by just a couple of sales.  The single sale in January (first since October) has pushed the Absorption Rate down to 24 months of inventory.

Norcross, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. The population is 2000 was 8,41, but that only included the area inside the city limits, and it has seen tremendous growth since that census. The City of Norcross revamped their old town a long time ago, and it has served as a model for other towns in the area. It is also home to Meadow Creek and Norcross High Schools. One of the things that Norcross is known for locally is the beautiful older homes in the downtown area. They have maintained their historic flair quite successfully.

I have a page dedicated to Norcross Market Data.

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Buford, GA, Market Report, June 2011

Friday, 05 August 2011 08:00
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DSCN0593

Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Market stats for Buford, GA, June, 2011 indicate that there were 603 properties on the market (584 last month). Overall, there was about an 7.4 month supply of properties (8.3 last month).  There were 97 sales for April, up slightly from 75 last month and 83 from last June (2010).

In the sub-$200k arena, there were 312 listings (313 last month), with a 5.4 month supply (6.1 for May).  This is the largest price segment in this market area, so strength here usually equals strength across the whole local market area.  Sales were up from last month (67 v 54), and quite strong compared to last year (48 sales in June, 2010).  Framed in the results for the whole market area, the segment is quite strong.

Between $200k and $400k, there were 224 listings for sale (213 for May), and about  10.5 months of supply (12.1 last month).  The 25 sales recorded were significantly above the 17 from last month, but well down from the 32 sales last year for June.  It is a mid-pack price/area segment in Gwinnett County, GA.  Of course, if there were another big bump next month…

From $400k to $600k, there were 41 homes on the market (36 last month). The absorption rate is almost 24.6 Months (54 last month).  This shouldn’t be acting like a high-end luxury segment, but it is.  There has been 5 sales in the last 3 months (3 sales for June, 2 for May).  When the market is rolling, there should be 5-7 sales a month during this part of the year.  And despite the lower market segments getting better, this one has been weak.

In the $600k to $800k arena, there were 5 listings (4 listings in May).  Absorption Rate is 15 months (6 months measured last month)… it jumps around a lot.  Sales in this range are pretty sporadic, but steady when looking at the long-term.  The drop in inventory over the last few months from 14 homes to 4 homes has made things look less slow… but there have been 5 sales in this segment in the last year… the last was last month.

The range from $800k to $1m, there were 11 homes listed (up 4 from May). And with only 1 sale in the last year (Feb 10) until last December (2 more), obviously  trends are hardly definable.  At least listings are down by more than compared to a few months ago (9 listings in June).

Above $1m, there were 10 properties listed (down 1 from May).  The last sale in the segment was in April… of 2009…and then there was May… and 2 sales in June.  FINALLY, new sales!

Buford, GA is a suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett and Hall Counties. The population is 2000 was 10,668, but that only included the area inside the city limits, and it had seen tremendous growth since that census.  Buford is home to Lake Lanier, one of Georgia’s premiere recreational areas, and Lake Lanier Islands.  Recently, the City of Buford has revamped their old town. It is also home to Buford (Buford City Schools aren’t a part of Gwinnett County Schools), Mill Creek, Mountain View and Lanier High School (Lanier will open for the 2010-11 school year).

I have a page dedicated to Buford Market Data.

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