Some good news to report on a national level:
USA Today reported a rise in home sales for February. And, according to an article by Walter Molony for Realtor.org, existing home sales rose 5.1 percent nationally (Existing Home Sales Rise in February; March 23, 2009). While Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist reports first time home buyers account for HALF of all home sales in February. And, much of that has to do with the current First Time Home Buyer $8K Tax Credit passed by Congress recently.
In the same article by Walter Molony: "In the South, existing-home sales rose 6.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in February but are 11.2 percent below February 2008. The median price in the South was $146,700, down 10.0 percent from a year ago."
With banks lending again, Steve Palm with Smart Numbers is predicting an uptick of home sales in our Atlanta market. Additionally, Dan Forsman, CEO of Prudential Georgia Realty is looking to the second half of 2009 (State of the Market Video) for home sales to see improvement in Atlanta. Put this all together and this will present an opportunity of a lifetime for buyers due to unbelievably low interest rates and great home prices. Current interest rates: FHA @ 5% and Conventional @ 4.5%...and, these rates will not last forever! As the market improves, rates will go up.
Let's take a look at Atlanta for February, 2009:
Information is gathered from the First Multiple Listing Service. Data is believed accurate, but not guaranteed.
For more information on the the real estate market consider the following:
State of the Market Video
Existing Home Sales Rise in February
Economic and Housing Indicators
Come to my house:
MySuwaneeHome.com
