Everyone knows that the Atlanta area is one of the hardest hit metro areas in terms of the numbers of foreclosures. Things are not looking up (yet). This will come to pass, but there is little good news on the horizon. The National Association of Realtors just released their April pending home sale index which declined 11.6 percent from the March reading and was a whopping 10.6% worse than the consensus estimate. The index is 26.5% lower than April 2010 which included the rush to get the home buyer tax credit.
During the first quarter of this year foreclosure sales accounted for 28% of all sales. The foreclosure properties sold for an average of 27% less than homes that were not in foreclosure. At the current sales pace it will take three years for banks to clear their inventories of houses in foreclosure.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee is not helping. They are proposing to raise the down-payment required for FHA loans and prohibit the financing of closing costs. Although I find this reasonable, I think it would be more reasonable in about three years.
During the first quarter of this year foreclosure sales accounted for 28% of all sales. The foreclosure properties sold for an average of 27% less than homes that were not in foreclosure. At the current sales pace it will take three years for banks to clear their inventories of houses in foreclosure.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee is not helping. They are proposing to raise the down-payment required for FHA loans and prohibit the financing of closing costs. Although I find this reasonable, I think it would be more reasonable in about three years.
