Notes from Johnny Isakson's talk today

Today I attended a talk that was given by Ga's Senator Johnny Isakson - he spent 33 years selling real estate in North Atlanta and knows this business. Here are some of the items he discussed that I really liked:

1. He felt the market is similar to 1972-1974 - when there was a 3 year supply of inventory on the market. The congress implemented a $2000 tax credit and one year later the supply of homes on the market was around 8 months.

2. The 8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers expires November 30 and he feels the issue in todays market is there is not a move up buyer - so the requirement to be a first time home buyer should be dropped, as well as the income limits.

3. The move up buyer has disappeared (very true) and if you get a move up buyer you get two sales (one sale and one purchase). Additionally, move up buyers create a domino effect. The example he gave was when a person who works for NCR sales his home in Dayton he buys a home in Atlanta and that person goes to Sacramento and buys a home... If that person in Dayton can not sale their home none of that happens.

4. The congress felt his $15,000 per year would cost to much at a cost of 34 billion so it was not passed. Right now they have spent 5.8 trillion on the issue - amazing point.

5. Last point I will talk about he said was the cash for clunkers - where the goverment takes money from its citizens to turn in an old care instead of taking money from its citizens and using that to make an investment in a home - a car is a depreciating asset while a house historically has not been.

He obviously knows the real estate market and I was very impressed with his thoughts.

If you would like additional information on the real estate market in North Atlanta, such as Dunwoody, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Cumming and Duluth ( Free In Depth Current Market Analysis Of Your Home), contact John Foster with Remax Greater Atlanta at 770 722-7010 or call my pager at 770 238-0589. Full Real Estate Services including Seller and Buyer Representation, Short Sales, Foreclosures and Real Estate Consultation.