November 30, 2008
With the news pouring into our brains 24-7 we are suffering from what some might call "media sensory overload." It's time to distill the endless barrage of news into hard core reality for the North Atlanta market analyze, interpret, synthesize … Separate the fact from fiction.
Reality: You can get a home loan today.
There is plenty of money available from a host of lenders. Seek out those mortgage bankers/brokers with a strong bank behind them. Yes, credit scores are important, a down payment is preferred, but rates remain at historic lows and money is out there.
Also be patient, the rapid approval, rapid loan closing is a thing of the past. Lenders will need income verification, an appraisal and credit applications, but money is available.
Reality: You can sell a home today! Houses are selling every day. Almost 10,000 traded hands in Atlanta last month alone. If you are a seller in today's market remember this is not a time for hobbyists. Hire a professional full time realtor and prepare your house to date, dress it for success. The best house (that's best price and best appearance) sells first, so act accordingly.
Reality: Homes have not lost their value. No, not in Atlanta, perhaps homes built in the scrub brush of California, Nevada or Arizona, but not in Atlanta. Sure there are great deals from Atlanta developers, stressed sellers or banks but those are isolated. There are more than 1,200,000 single family and condo homes in Metro Atlanta and only a fraction of a fraction are moving at sub market prices. The bulk of the Atlanta home price market is solid as Stone Mountain.
Reality: The numbers don't lie. It's how you look at them. The doomsayers are focused on the wrong side of the fractions. Today, Atlanta has a 94 percent employment number, 92 percent apartment occupancy, and Lake Lanier, while down 15 feet, is still a 31,000 acre pond. The reality of real people with real jobs, buying real homes, making Atlanta's real economic engine move upward.
Reality: All markets are local. Think about it … Do you know anyone with a Lehman Brothers checking account? Anyone relying on Goldman Sachs for a car loan? Or making a home mortgage payment to the Bank of Norway?
No, we are a local economy —affected by local employment and demographics, but we, as Atlantan's, affect the entire region of the Southeast. We are smart, multi-cultural, diversified, wealthy, experiencing moderate home appreciation, paying our share of taxes and providing a wonderful life for our families. Others in California, the Northeast U.S. or Florida would kill to have our economy and our quality of life. You have never heard anyone say "I can't wait to retire to Milwaukee."
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Frank Norton Jr. is president of The Norton Agency, a company founded by his grandfather. W.L. Norton Sr. in 1928. His company prepares an annual Native Intelligence Report for its clients, a 20-year statistical database used by relocating businesses, investors and developers alike to strategically position banking, medical, retail, residential and industrial development.
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