Atlanta Housing Market Stable, Strong

The national housing market hasn’t really gotten rave reviews lately. Maybe you noticed. Widespread subprime, or bad credit home loan lending, has led to a surge in foreclosures around the country.

Abnormal appreciation rates have led some people to have trouble selling their old homes, which means they can’t buy new ones.

A decrease in buyers has led to a decrease in new home starts.

But local experts gave a more rosy outlook for the metro Atlanta housing market at a press conference at the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association Housing Center on Thursday.

In fact, one expert went so far as to say he can’t think of a better opportunity for potential Georgia mortgage applicants in and around Atlanta.

“It’s probably the best time to buy a home that’s existed here in the 25 years that I’ve been in the business,” said Larry Liebross, COO of New Homes America, an Alpharetta company specializing in new home sales.

One of the reasons metro Atlanta has been more stable is because most people buy homes in the area for long-term living, said Roger Tutterow, dean of the department of economics and finance at Mercer University.

Most people are not taking out a Georgia home loan in Atlanta to resell it quickly and make a profit. The areas where that has occurred are known as bubble, or speculative, markets and they have been the ones hit the hardest by the housing downturn.

Liebross pointed out most of the bubble markets are areas with high population growth and a limited supply of developable land. While Atlanta has had high population growth, it has not lacked land.

“When you have demand exceeding supply, you wind up with those types extremes,” Liebross said.

“Atlanta’s always been a much more level market.”

Liebross said Atlanta has still been affected by Georgia mortgage problems and residents in bubble markets who are unable to sell their old homes.

Eugene James, Atlanta director of housing market research firm Metrostudy, said many of the areas Atlanta has traditionally drawn new residents from are those bubble markets such as Florida, California and the Northeast.

Still, despite some potential buyers being unable to relocate, Atlanta has remained ahead of the curve when it comes to home sales. James said Atlanta still shows more annual closings than any other market in the country.

“We have a very vibrant housing market here,” he said.

Apply for a home mortgage loan today, buyers.

SOURCE: Gwinnett Daily Post