Case Shiller Index – October 2009
The latest Case-Shiller Index was published today.   As always, Case-Shiller is published the last Tuesday of the month and reports on data 60 days in arrears.  So what does the latest index show and what does that mean for home values in metro Atlanta?  Before we provide the answer, we want to make two caveats.  First, the Case-Shiller index of home values is very different from average sale prices which reflect the average prices of what is being sold in the market.  Right now, the heavy volumes in the market are on the lower end for 1st time home buyers and short sales/ foreclosures.  The luxury market is slower so that makes the average s

Changing Trends for Foreclosures and Short Sales
The trends for new “notices of foreclosure” or pre-foreclosures continue to be significant for the metro Atlanta market.  Equity Depot reports that pre-foreclosures have been in the 10,000 – 12,000 range each month for metro Atlanta since mid summer.  This is up from the 7,000 - 8,000 range last fall.  These increases are driven by unemployment, adjustable mortgages resetting to higher levels and general economic conditions.  One would expect that the inventory levels of bank-owned properties would be significantly higher… but that is not the case.  Rick Sharga, SVP Marketing at RealtyTrac, wrote a recent blog post and estimated that there are at leas

The Latest Case Shiller Report – What Does It Mean?
The latest Case-Shiller Index was published on Tuesday.  As always, Case-Shiller is published the last Tuesday of the month and reports on data 60 days in arrears.  So what does the latest index show and what does that mean for home value in metro Atlanta?  Before we provide the answer, we want to make two caveats.  First, the Case-Shiller index of home values is very different from average sale prices which reflect the average prices of what is being sold in the market.  Right now, the heavy volumes in the market are on the lower end for 1st time home buyers and short sales/ foreclosures.  The luxury market is slower so that makes the average

Big Changes In Appraisals For Atlanta Real Estate
Consumers are often confused by the process used by appraisers.  The podcast included in this post includes an interview with Scott Murphy of D.S. Murphy & Associates.  Scott is one of the most respected appraisers in the industry.  He has personally performed over 17,000 appraisals and was appointed to the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board.   Scott estimates that Atlanta home values have dropped by 10-25% since the peak in July of 2007 depending upon your local area.  As always, real estate is local and every market is different.  Scott suggests that many of our local markets are now stabilizing and showing some signs of recovery.  However, that may not be reflec