Prudential Georgia Realty Real Estate Advisor
December 2011
We hope that you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving
and wish you a safe and happy 2011 Holiday Season!
We are providing this monthly real estate advisor report to keep you informed about the trends and issues in the real
estate market. If you know someone else who might be interested in receiving this report or who may benefit from
our expertise, please let us know. This report will update you on Metro Atlanta home values, trends for short sales &
foreclosures, real estate opportunities & challenges plus share a great new tool for eSignatures.
Home Values Compared To The Peak
Rank Metro Market Drop In Home Values
1 Las Vegas -59.1%
2 Phoenix -55.7%
3 Miami -49.7%
4 Tampa -46.0%
5 Detroit -45.1%
6 San Francisco -38.9%
7 San Diego -38.7%
8 Los Angeles -37.7%
9 Minneapolis -34.8%
10 Chicago -32.1%
11 Seattle -28.5%
12 Washington, DC -27.9%
13 Portland -27.8%
14 Atlanta -25.2%
Information Provided Courtesy of Prudential Georgia Realty. Sources include Case‐Shiller, Moody’s, FHFA, LPS, Corelogic, SmartNumbers, RealValuator,
Trendgraphix, ARC, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Forecasting Center of Georgia State University, Freddie Mac, NAR and other sources. Information
Contained In This Report Is Proprietary And Not To Be Copied Or Reproduced In Any Way Without The Prior Consent Of Prudential Georgia Realty Corporate
Marketing. Information Is Deemed Reliable But Not Warranted.
As we read local articles about the drop in homes values for Metro Atlanta, it is good to get some
perspective about how our market compares to other markets. Yes, our market values are down
25.2% according to the last Case-Shiller index for August which was reported on October 25.
The next index for Metro Atlanta comes out on November 29 so look for our latest report at
www.ATLscoop.com. Yes our values are down but look at the other markets that are much
worse off than us! We must remember that markets work in cycles. The boom and correction
cycles tend to normalize over time. Take a look at this chart that shows our home values have
over-corrected.
Over time, our market values will return to the normal appreciation levels of around 3.5% to 4%
that we have seen in Georgia for more than 50 years. We believe that the pendulum has swung
too far driven by short sales & foreclosures. So how long will this last and what should you do?
Now, let’s take a look at short sales & foreclosures.
Information Provided Courtesy of Prudential Georgia Realty. Sources include Case‐Shiller, Moody’s, FHFA, LPS, Corelogic, SmartNumbers, RealValuator,
Trendgraphix, ARC, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Forecasting Center of Georgia State University, Freddie Mac, NAR and other sources. Information
Contained In This Report Is Proprietary And Not To Be Copied Or Reproduced In Any Way Without The Prior Consent Of Prudential Georgia Realty Corporate
Marketing. Information Is Deemed Reliable But Not Warranted.
A Changing Picture For Metro Atlanta Foreclosures
Remember the headlines from a few years ago. The states that were national leaders for
foreclosures were Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada and yes – Georgia! The chart above
from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows a different picture today. Florida and California
are still leading the pack – but now Illinois, New York and New Jersey are in the top 5. Georgia
has dropped to the #7 position. Florida and California have had almost 800,000 foreclosures
versus 62,000 in Georgia. Now, you can see why the national numbers can be so misleading.
So what are the drivers for short sales & foreclosures and when will we see them return to more
normal volumes. The drivers for short sales or foreclosures included our new homes bubble,
providing loans to buyers who could not afford them and now unemployment/ under-
employment. The good news is that our large inventory of new home foreclosures is mostly
behind us and most of the buyers who never had the money to buy their homes in the first place
are already foreclosed and through the system. If you would like to learn more about that story,
read our supplemental report - What Happened To The Housing Market In Metro Atlanta?
Now that leaves us with general unemployment and under-employment as the biggest drivers for
new short sales and foreclosures. Our unemployment rate for Metro Atlanta just dropped to 9.9
which ranks us #7 among major metro areas. The unemployment rate for the state of Georgia is
10.2% which ranks us #10 in the nation. Of the properties selling in our market in 2011, 60% are
short sales or foreclosures. That means that are we absorbing a lot of our foreclosure inventory.
Georgia is a non-judicial state which means that we process our foreclosures faster than other
states that must go through the court system. We are making progress but we are not out of the
woods just yet. The rate of pre-foreclosures (notices of default) remains around 12,000 per
month for Metro Atlanta. It has been in that range for the past two years. The delinquency rate
of under-performing loans is 9% which is # 7 in the nation. The leading indicators that we are
watching include the loan delinquency rates (which may predict future rates of pre-foreclosure),
Information Provided Courtesy of Prudential Georgia Realty. Sources include Case‐Shiller, Moody’s, FHFA, LPS, Corelogic, SmartNumbers, RealValuator,
Trendgraphix, ARC, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Forecasting Center of Georgia State University, Freddie Mac, NAR and other sources. Information
Contained In This Report Is Proprietary And Not To Be Copied Or Reproduced In Any Way Without The Prior Consent Of Prudential Georgia Realty Corporate
Marketing. Information Is Deemed Reliable But Not Warranted.
the pre-foreclosure rates (notices of default which predict the future rates of foreclosures), short
sale rates (bank willing to accept less than the outstanding mortgage), foreclosure rates
(properties taken by the banks) and the rates of bank-owned sales. By tracking bank-owned sales
and short sales, we can see if we are building up foreclosure inventory or absorbing our
inventory. One additional leading indicator we are watching is the sales price distribution. In
2011, SmartNumbers reports that over 50% of transactions are under $125,000. The normal
percentage for these price ranges should be around 10%. That means that many markets with
higher sales prices are less impacted than the general numbers reported for Metro Atlanta.
The good news is that we have the excellent information tools that are not available to the public.
We even have a report that we can show the foreclosure trends for your property and your local
surrounding area. A lot of the information available publicly is wrong or misleading. We have a
number of different sources so we can do the research to help our clients make the best real
estate decisions.
If you would like a local report or would like to discuss the amazing opportunities to make
money with real estate, contact us today!
Opportunities & Challenges For Real Estate
There are several great opportunities to make money in real estate today. Here are a few examples:
Move To Smarter Living and Simplify – There are thousands of baby boomers across our market that would love
to move to a smarter living environment. There are wonderful homes available with great designs that are less
maintenance, more energy-efficient and have the floor plans for active adult lifestyles. Are you living in a bigger
home than you need? Is your home draining your wallet with maintenance, heating, air conditioning and other
expenses? Today’s low prices and mortgage rates have created an unprecedented opportunity that we may never see
again in our lifetimes.
Information Provided Courtesy of Prudential Georgia Realty. Sources include Case‐Shiller, Moody’s, FHFA, LPS, Corelogic, SmartNumbers, RealValuator,
Trendgraphix, ARC, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Forecasting Center of Georgia State University, Freddie Mac, NAR and other sources. Information
Contained In This Report Is Proprietary And Not To Be Copied Or Reproduced In Any Way Without The Prior Consent Of Prudential Georgia Realty Corporate
Marketing. Information Is Deemed Reliable But Not Warranted.
First-Time Buyers – Yes, it is a little scary for first time home buyers. But you have the
opportunity of a lifetime to own a home with low prices and incredibly low mortgage rates. The
news reports keep saying that banks are not lending – not true. There are plenty of creative
lending programs still there. We would be happy to introduce you to our local loan officer to get
you pre-qualified. We offer Job Loss Protection that gives you a nest egg worth over $10,000 in
the event of a job loss. In addition, an HSA Home Warranty can help you avoid major repair
expenses that could harm you financially. Every first time buyer should have these included in
the transaction. We can negotiate them in the deal so they cost you nothing. If you are a first
time buyer or know someone who needs expert help, contact us to get started.
We Have A Solution To The Most Common Challenge - the homeowner that is struggling to
make their payments. There are still thousands of good people impacted by the economy that
need help. A short sale is often the best approach to help someone get into a less costly living
environment so they can move on with the next chapter in their lives. We have a Short Sale
ASAP program that was created in partnership with Weissman, Nowack, Curry & Wilco – one
of the most respected law firms in our market. If you know someone who needs help, please let
us know so we can educate them on their options.
Information Provided Courtesy of Prudential Georgia Realty. Sources include Case‐Shiller, Moody’s, FHFA, LPS, Corelogic, SmartNumbers, RealValuator,
Trendgraphix, ARC, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Forecasting Center of Georgia State University, Freddie Mac, NAR and other sources. Information
Contained In This Report Is Proprietary And Not To Be Copied Or Reproduced In Any Way Without The Prior Consent Of Prudential Georgia Realty Corporate
Marketing. Information Is Deemed Reliable But Not Warranted.
Introducing eSignature For Free!
Prudential Georgia Realty is pleased to formally introduce DocuSign as our partner for
eSignature. DocuSign is the world's leading eSignature service with 10 million users signing
over a million pages of business documents online every day. We look forward to working
together with our clients on paperless transactions. DocuSign is much faster than the traditional
method of printing, signing and scanning documents - multiple times! DocuSign is also very
secure with a variety of options for passwords, encryption, authentication and compliance
reporting. Our clients do not need any special software and can sign simply online - from any
device, anywhere, anytime.
Our version is a very robust suite of tools and specifically designed for real estate transactions.
But you can also try out eSignature for your everyday documents. Visit
www.docusign.com/products/docusignink to learn more. It is free and easy to use. Welcome to
eSignature!
Your Signature Is More Powerful In The Cloud!
We Hope You And Your Family Have A Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and
Happy Holiday. If You Know Someone Who Can Benefit From This Information Or
Our Real Estate Expertise, We Would Love To Help Them. Thank You!
Information Provided Courtesy of Prudential Georgia Realty. Sources include Case‐Shiller, Moody’s, FHFA, LPS, Corelogic, SmartNumbers, RealValuator,
Trendgraphix, ARC, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Forecasting Center of Georgia State University, Freddie Mac, NAR and other sources. Information
Contained In This Report Is Proprietary And Not To Be Copied Or Reproduced In Any Way Without The Prior Consent Of Prudential Georgia Realty Corporate
Marketing. Information Is Deemed Reliable But Not Warranted.