Once again, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index is showing broad-based improvement in home prices across the country.
The 10-city Index increased 1.7 percent in July, and the 20-city Index was up 1.6 percent. Both were down over 12 percent from July 2009, however.
In Atlanta, prices increased 2.3 in July, but remained 11.8 percent below last year.
It's the fourth-straight month of price appreciation for the city.
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Harlan and Associates performs real estate closings in Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we'll be happy to discuss how we can be of service to you!
Standard & Poor's released the Chase-Shiller Home Price Indices this morning, showing that the decline in home prices in Atlanta seems to be shallowing.
The data, good through March 2009, show that the metropolitan Atlanta area experienced a 1.7 percent drop in home prices versus February.
February's drop was 2.5 percent versus January. And January's decline was 3.2 percent from December 2008.
Still, Atlanta's home prices show a year-to-year decline of 15.7 percent.
While three months of smaller declines is a positive sign for the city, home prices nationwide are still experiencing significant downward pressure. Nine of the cities tracked by Case-Shiller in fact had record declines in March.
We'd love to be your Atlanta real estate lawyers. Want to know more? Contact us and we'll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!
It just got a little easier to sell homes here in Georgia.
At least some homes, that is.
On Monday, Governor Sonny Perdue just signed a law which gives buyers of qualified single-family residences a tax credit of up to $1,800. Combined with the $8,000 federal tax credit, potential homebuyers have a great incentive to act now.
The credit takes effect immediately, and it's available for the next six months.
And best of all, it's available to anyone who buys an eligible home, not just first-time homebuyers. And it's available for owner-occupied and non-owner occupied properties alike.
Those who do buy an eligible home can look forward to a tax credit of $1,800 or 1.2 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less. The credit must be taken over three years, and is non-refundable. It can also only be taken once.
So what's the catch? Well, not every home is eligible.
What homes are? Single-family homes that were for sale on or before May 11, owner-occupied residences with an owner who was in default of their mortgage as of March 1, or REO property held by the lender or the lender's agent.
That will ultimately leave a lot of homes out in the cold, as new listings will be ineligible for the credit. Still, it is a welcome sign that the legislature is committed to stabilizing and jumpstarting Georgia's real estate market, and to revitalize Georgia's economy.
And for those homes which are eligible for the credit - a little extra incentive for a potential purchaser can't hurt!
We'd love to be your Atlanta real estate lawyers. Want to know more? Contact us and we'll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!
lili skipping, originally uploaded by phitar.
According to a Census Bureau report, Metropolitan Atlanta is now the third emptiest city in America, ranking behind only Las Vegas and Detroit in the number of vacant rental units and single family homes.
Overdevelopment, soaring foreclosures, and the size of the Atlanta metropolitan area - 28 counties - have left the city among the country's leaders in empty homes.
A primary culprit: intown condos.
Once the darling of real estate developers who rushed to put up new buildings as quickly as they could be built, the condominium markets in Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead have all but collapsed.
In fact, Atlanta had over 6,000 new unsold condos at the end of 2008. Only 645 were sold during the year, and only 66 in the last six months.
Overall, the Census Bureau reported that 16.1 percent of Atlanta's rental market was vacant, as were 4.3 percent of non-rental homes.
Still, Atlanta is not in as dire straits as Detroit, for example. The city continues to attract more people, which should result in a quick rebound of demand when the economy stabilizes.
Harlan and Associates are short sale attorneys in Atlanta. Want to know more? Contact us and we'll be happy to discuss how we can be of service to you!
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index has once again fallen to record lows, with the both the 10- and 20-city indexes dropping 2.2 percent in November.
That represents year-over-year drops of 19.1 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively - both new record declines.
In Atlanta, home prices dropped 2.2 percent in November, and are now showing a one-year decline of 11.2 percent.
Harlan and Associates performs real estate closings in Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we'll be happy to discuss how we can be of service to you!
Steve-O's 4-way, originally uploaded by Lowerlighter.
Stephen Harlan is the principal attorney of the firm. Admitted to the bar, 1995, Georgia. Education: Emory University (B.A., Philosophy/Psychology, 1992); Emory University School of Law (J.D., 1995)
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