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Georgia
The bread and butter of real estate is the single family home, and homes are taking a beating in Georgia. As one of the states with the highest rates of foreclosures Georgia is suffering.
The Georgia real estate market has grown for more than a decade. The greater Atlanta area now encompasses 26 counties. Atlanta has been called the new Los Angeles of the south. It’s earned that claim to fame with the largest expansion of highways of any metropolitan area outside of California. No question Atlanta has boomed.
But an epidemic of mortgage fraud, popularized alternative adjustable rate mortgages and subprime loans is hurting the housing market. Atlanta as its turned out is a new growing home for mortgage fraud and unethical lenders.
California and Florida have long led the nation in the loan fraud arena. Now Georgia runs a close third, which artificially inflated its real estate markets. The sprawling Atlanta area may be a lot more like Los Angeles than people ever thought for white collar crime.
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| City |
Forecast |
| Atlanta |
− 12.3% |
| Macon |
− 3.8% |
| Albany |
− 6.9% |
| Columbus |
− 5.1% |
| Augusta |
− 4.8% |
Homes are selling, but at much lower prices. Some foreclosures are selling for as much as 50% off the markets peak. Excessive inventory is dragging the market down in Atlanta. But a growing job market is boosting the Atlanta economy, at least for now. Housing Predictor forecasts Atlanta will deflate an additional 12.3% in average housing prices in 2008.
In Columbus the market is pressured by a rising rate of foreclosures. But with a military base nearby and FHA and VA mortgages experiencing a lower rate of delinquencies, Columbus housing should weather the mortgage crisis less severely forecast to deflate 5.1% on the average home.
In Augusta the housing market is healthier. New construction and home resales have slowed but not to the extent of other markets. Augusta home prices are also significantly lower than Atlanta, which at least partially protects the market from major deflation.
Augusta is forecast by Housing Predictor to experience a slower year in home sales in 2008, but only witness 4.8% in housing deflation.
In Macon the housing market has not taken as hard a hit, although home sales have slowed. Being a less urban community Macon has a slower kind of home market and didn’t experience major appreciation during the boom like else where. Macon will see just a little change, according to the Housing Predictor forecast, deflating 3.8%.
In southern Georgia in the city of Albany, where prices did zoom during the real estate boom home sales have slowed for more than a year and will see a further deterioration, amounting to 6.9% less in average housing values by the end of the year.
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