2013 Housing & Refinance News

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 2013 Atlanta Housing News

 

If you are in the market to buy or sell your home this year you must have serious approach to doing so as the market has changed considerably this year in many parts of the country—including the Atlanta Metro Area!

The good news is that foreclosure filings are down in metro Atlanta and many parts of the country.  Decent housing in the $140,000 to 180,000 range in many metro area counties are at a low supply level with many houses receiving multiple offers from wary buyers and their agents.

Interest rates have been inching up steadily since May of 2013 and that translates to higher monthly housing payments and making some homes less affordable for some buyers and refinancing less attractive for current home owners.

In Fayette County—our office base of operation home build-out is at 88% in Fayetteville—according to The Citizen Newspaper.

Fayetteville is Fayette County's second largest city (Peachtree City is the largest at just under 35,000 residents) based on population (just over 16,000 residents as of December 2013) and total build-out based on available lots now stand at just over 18,000 residents in the city limits.

27 lots are available in the Bellmeade subdivisision located off Redwine Road on the city's south side and the largest number(82) are located on the Oddo property on the south side and (48) are located in the undeveloped Logan Park subdivision off Helen Sams Parkway.

Planned Community Development (apartments, attached homes, and cluster homes) are more plentiful with 323 potential lots for apartments—83 single family lots are located in the Vilages on GA Highway 54 West near downtown Fayetteville and 52 are located on the South Side of the city—off Highway 85 South.

Townhome lots include 66 on the south side of Highway 85 and 6 units per acre are currently allowed.

There are also 16 lots in Fayetteville that are designated as residential/professional.

Keep in mind that the 819 parcels that are currently available is a fluid number (subject to change based on market conditions and actions by the city government) and the number does not factor in the large acreage that was recently acquired by Pinewood Studios that were annexed into the city of Fayetteville. 

It is uncertain at this time whether residential development will be allowed on any of the property that was acquired by Pinewood.

Other potential residential lots include those on and near Grady Avenue (over 38 acres) that were once proposed for residential development but are currently zoned for Medical/Office—meaning they would now require a change in zoning in order for residential construction to occur. 

Another area that has residential potential include a site across Highway 54 near Grady Avenue that is currently zoned PCD—projected for residents 55 and over, however rezoning and tax breaks are needed and the current developer is relying on that to occur as a contingency for pursuing the development.

In other areas of metro Atlanta  there are many available lots and builders are starting to return—albeit at a much slower pace than in the 1990's and 2000's.

Home prices are inching upward throughout the metro Atlanta area.  Even so, many homeowners find themselves upside down or have a very thin equity position which makes selling at this time unwise for many.

Those sellers who have a strong equity position and are able to sell for a gain are not able to re-purchase in a manner that they were able too several years ago—as many areas of metro Atlanta has seen a rise in home prices.

Many attractive properties in select price ranges are receiving a high number of offers due to shortage in demand of quality houses under $200,000

In a sense—Atlanta is trending like other major markets in the United States with a steady but slow uptick in housing prices and at the same time a low inventory of quality homes for the entry-level buyer in stable neighborhoods.

That combination is bringing home builders back into the market—although at a much slower and much more cautious pace than in past years.

As far as re-financing in metro Atlanta—the fist half of the year (2013) saw an uptick with a slowdown in the last quarter as interest rates have slowly inched upward.

About This Article:

 

The above article was written by Thomas (TJ) Underwood.   Thomas (TJ) Underwood is an active real estate broker in the state of Georgia and is the writer behind The Wealth Increaser, Home Buyer 411,  Home Seller 411, The 3 Step Structured Approach to Managing Your Finances, Managing & Improving Your Credit & Finances for this MILLENNIUM and CREDIT & FINANCE IMPROVEMENT MADE EASY—FREE GUIDE. 

He is the creator of TheWealthIncreaser.com where he regularly blogs about helping consumers improve their credit, finance and real estate pursuits in an intelligent, consistent and proactive manner.  He’s always looking for ways to make intelligent finance improvement happen for those who “sincerely desire” success in their future. 

You can contact him from a number of sources but the most direct way is to contact him through the contact us block that can be found at the bottom of this page. 

You can also get other highly relevant tips on "living your life more abundantly" and possibly earn revenue at the same time by linking to TheWealthIncreaser.com.

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