Covington, GA

Around the first of this month, I wrote a short blog called "The Time Is Now!" about when is a good time to buy a house. This morning, an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution reinforced my idea that there's no better time to buy real estate than now.

Julie Hairston wrote in the AJC this morning that Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has just put his seven-bedroom Buckhead mansion on the market for $10.9 million. Well, most of us couldn't even afford one bay of the three-car garage or a couple of the seven full baths in that home! But, that's not the point.

The article says that the Blanks will be moving to another Buckhead home the are renovating, and are joining a trend among their moneyed peers of investing in new homes.

Julie writes that a recent American Express/Harrison Group survey of 1,800 wealthy individuals indicates that as many as 40 percent of the nation's wealthiest household intend to buy real estate this year. They view real estate in today's market as a real bargain.

Real estate is a real bargain in today's market... not just in multi-million dollar properties, but across the board. You have your choice of large numbers of homes available in all price ranges. Mortgage money is available, and mortgage interest rates are the lowest in years. "Prices are down and that's when the smart people buy," the AJC article says.

So if the "smart money" is buying real estate right now, shouldn't you? How do you think those guys made all those millions anyway?

The Time Is Now!

At the end of this year's first quarter, here's what's happening in the Covington and Newton County Georgia real estate market.

According to the Georgia Multiple Listing Service (GAMLS), there are currently 1964 single family homes actively listed for sale in Covington and Newton County. The average list price of these 1964 homes is $207,125., and they have been on the market for an average of 133 days.

Most of the homes listed are three (3) bedroom homes - 864 of them, at an average list price of $152,962. Four (4) bedroom homes comprised the next largest number on the market - 691 homes with an average list price of $228,314. There are also 349 homes with five (5) or more bedrooms (average list $308,779.), and 60 homes with two (2) or fewer bedrooms (average list $151,753.).

How does today's real estate market in Covington and Newton County compare to last year's? Here's the scoop:

During the first quarter of this year, according to GAMLS, a total of 313 homes in Covington and the county (only 25% of those available) sold for an average sale price of $167,735 after an average of 110 days on the market. The average sale price is 96% of what the homes were listed for (the sales price to list price ratio).

A total of 442 single family homes (46% of those available) sold during the same period last year (2007) for an average sale price of $175,429. That was 98% of what the homes were listed for (sales price to list price ration). The average "days on market" was, again, 110 days.

These statistics indicate that our real estate market in Covington remains softer than normal considering the number of homes available and the number sold. However, they also indicate that the value of homes in this market and the average time required to sell a home both remain stable. Most importantly, they indicate that now is a great time to buy.

The prices of homes currently listed represent good value for the amount of home you get in Covington. Our stable market, coupled with the large number of homes to choose from and the best mortgage rates in years make now a perfect time to buy.

Interest rates today for a conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgage or an FHA loan is 5.625%. And the FHA just raised their maximum loan limit in Newton and Rockdale Counties to $346,250.

One of the issues keeping the market rather soft in Covington is a belief by both sellers and buyers that there it is nearly impossible to obtain a mortgage in today's market. This is simply not true, friends! There is plenty of mortgage money available from reputable lenders at excellent rates!

If you're confused about the current real estate and mortgage market, watch this space. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting information to help you understand the fundamentals of mortgage lending. And, I welcome your questions or comments!

Looking to buy on of the discounted Covington Georgia Foreclosures? Many home buyers call me asking for discounted foreclosures in the Covington Georgia area. I usually tell them that they need to look at all foreclosures, but more importantly, the ones that have been discounted.

There are some other discounted homes for sale in the Metro Atlanta area, that are not necessarily foreclosures. Some of these homes are brand new homes. The builders are having a hard time selling them, so they decide to discount them.

Some of them are pre-foreclosures, which excellent saving opportunities for the savvy home buyer.

You also have some for sale by owner properties and some homes whose owners have already moved because of their jobs and they really need to sell. These sellers are very motivated and ready to cut a deal with any home buyer who dares make them an offer.

Here's a foreclosure property that has been discounted. Appraised and initially listed for $145K, now asking only $116K, almost $30K in savings.

You can get details and a list of other discounted Metro Atlanta homes for sale here.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) issued a press release on December 11 of last year entitled "The Worst is Over - Existing Home Sales to trend up in 2008." Yesterday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution published an article on the Business front, above the fold, that shouted "Metro area foreclosures surge." If you saw these two articles, you're probably wondering "What the heck is going on?" So, who's right?

I don't know the answer to that question. But, let me tell you what I DO know.

The NAR is wrong! That should be evident with yesterday's AJC headline.

The NAR and their economists based their national prognostication on a single positive indicator - a projected increase in the number of existing home sales in 2008. Well, that shouldn't be too hard to achieve since the 2007 home sale market was, overall, one of the worst in recent history. But "national" is the operative word here.

The NAR reports from a national perspective, but real estate is not a national business. It's a local business. Almost every market is different. Thus, the only person who can make sure you understand the market from a proper perspective is your local Realtor.

Many local real estate markets, such as Charlotte, Birmingham and Harrisburg, PA, were not nearly as affected as markets in California, Ohio and Florida. Even Atlanta was not as hard hit as those. And there is good news in mant markets across the country.

We are beginning to see increased activity in the real estate market here in Covington, Georgia. Buyers are beginning to look at homes again. Sellers are beginning to put their homes on the market. People are applying for refinancing and new mortgages. But last week's Covington News also had 25 pages of foreclosure legal notices... the most I've seen since early September of last year when there were 17 pages of notices. Does that mean the AJC is right?

The AJC is wrong too! They're right in their facts... "Metro Atlanta foreclosure notices shot to a record high this month...." "That is up 45 percent from the same period a year ago." But they're woefully wrong in the way they report those facts, characterizing the news as "... a dismal sign of deepening woes in the housing and mortgage market...."

It is true that 215 U.S. lending operations have gone under since late s006 - primarily sub-prime mortgagers. It's true that foreclosures are at an all-time high. But, it's also true that the media seems to take great pleasure in running chills up and down the spines of their consumers. They have reported so often and so negatively about our housing market that they have frightened buyers, seller and investors away from the the market that was, in fact, the glue holding the U.S. economy together for several years past.

Bottom line is that no one has a corner on the housing market crystal ball. The NAR doesn't. The media doesn't. Nor do economists who work for them. Economists, whether they work for the overly optimistic NAR or the overly pessimistic media, make the predictions their industry wants to hear. Economists are like weathermen. Their predictions are often wrong, but after it rains, they're great at telling you why. I take them all with a grain of salt.

Is the "worst over?" Or are we seeing "a dismal sign of deepening woes in the housing and mortgage market?"

Who knows? I'm just going to watch the Covington real estate market and, with apologies to Yogi, tell you that "It Ain't Over "Till It's Over!"

I've said before that, in my opinion, we're lucky in Covington and Newton County, Georgia to have government land use planners, commissions and councils who are concerned with proper, sustainable growth in our city and county. A recent survey by the National Association of Realtors® and Smart Growth America supports what we're doing here in verifying that the American public agrees that growth is good so long as it is "Smart Growth."

High energy costs are making Americans think twice about unrestrained, random development. Overwhelmingly, people want their local governments and developers to plan and make their communities less dependent on cars by rethinking land use and pouring resources into public transportation, according to the survey.

Asked to select the best approach to reducing energy use, more than 80 percent said they favor building communities so that people can walk more, and almost 90 percent favor providing public transportation in the form of rail and buses. Along those same lines, 75 percent say the cure for escalating traffic problems isn't more roads but walkable communities and more transit choices.

We haven't quite reached the population point in Covington and Newton County that will require us to seriously consider the need for a local public transportation system. We are, however a part of the larger Atlanta Metropolitan area with over 17,000 Newton County residents commuting into Atlanta daily. So we should still be concerned when our regional authorities continue to talk about light rail but do nothing... when international business consulting companies tell their clients not to relocate to Atlanta because of the terrible traffic... when over ¼ million of us spend between 2 and 3 hours every day commuting back and forth to work!

But we are getting it right in the other area... land use planning and development!

Our first Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), Clark's Grove, is now four years old, and still thriving. Only two homes remain for sale in Phase I. Construction on Phase II of the neighborhood will begin in late March of this year, adding more commercial space and another 90 homes.

Construction of homes has begun in Dorchester Place, Covington's newest TND, also just a short walk from Covington's historic square. When completed, Dorchester Place will claim 124 homes.

Finally, the Newton County Commission has not only pre-approved, but praised the developer's plans for Mount Pleasant, a new Traditional Neighborhood Development and college community planned to abut the Georgia Perimeter College campus off Georgia Highway 11.

Considering our county's population and the fact that there are currently only some 260 TNDs in the entire U.S., it's pretty amazing - and gratifying - that we have three right here in Covington and Newton County! In Covington, "Smart Growth" is not just a buzzword. It's reality!