Metro Atlanta Home Prices and Inventory

Overall median of home values have risen 6.4 % since October of 2013.  And although pre-sale inventory is below peak levels, it has been on the rise since the beginning of 2014.  This is mainly due, however, to the number of homes for sale in the upper one-third of home values. There were more homes for sale this October compared to last October and the increase in the number of homes for sale was in the double digits in all price tiers.

The rate of homes that are foreclosed continue to decline from 5.6 out of every 10,000 homes in 2013 to a rate of 4.5 out of every 10,000 currently.  Foreclosure resales rose slightly to 7.7%, up from 7.3% of last year.

In general, the housing market continues to recover and home values are predicted to continue to rise, although at a slower pace that will ultimately be beneficial to both buyers and sellers.  Although the vast majority of metro Atlanta areas will experience a slowing appreciation of home values over the next year and the levels are still more than 10% below their peak, it indicates room to grow and continued momentum for the recovery is expected.

In other news, as of December 1, 2014, the proposed changes to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage guidelines will take effect.  The main changes this will create are first a reduction in the minimum down payment for a mortgage from 5% to 3%.  Second it loosens the guidelines the banks and lenders are forced to follow allowing for hundreds of thousands of more consumers to obtain a mortgage.  Finally, it will enable the banks and lenders to drastically increase turn around time for evaluating mortgages and short sales.  The banks estimate it will take a few weeks for the changes to take full effect, thus creating a stark difference by the beginning of 2015.

As always God bless and happy hunting!

Why cash flow is so important

Cash flow is essential to any business.  Without it, the business can not succeed.  This is especially true in real estate investing.   In today's real estate market many smaller firms and private buyers are running into cash flow issues, and therefore having to turn to debt to finance their short-term cash flow problems; thus causing a general slow down across the board of buying and development.  With this in mind, those investors with cash are king.  Currently, the inventory demand far outweighs the supply and sellers are able to dictate their price more so than in recent past.  In order to stay ahead of the curve, those with cash, and without cash flow problems, are in a better position to negotiate terms of a deal versus those with financing.

This blog was created to keep people informed on the latest news in the real estate investing industry as well as actual business experiences with deals being completed.  This is the one blog you will need to be up to date on all happenings in Real Estate and Real Estate investing.  Please follow and share with anyone who could benefit from the knowledge and experiences shared here.  God bless and happy investing!!