Decius wrote:
So how do you think this has impacted housing prices in Atlanta? Is it a decent time to buy, or is the market sitting on inventory with unrealistic prices...

It is a CRAZY decent time to buy. Condo prices haven't budged in years from when they were bought (and there are a million to choose from), and Billy and I looked at scores of houses that, if you were willing to put in a little elbow grease, would be a great deal. New homes are piling up left and right. Friends at work are getting great deals from builders who can't start building any more homes because their loans are structured such that they have to sell what they've built before they build anew. Also, my house inspector mentioned new houses off Ashford Dunwoody that have had their prices lowered by $100,000 because the builder needs to get rid of them.

It is probably is the best market for new houses because of the glut of them on the market, but you can get a great deal on any dwelling in any area of the city because the entire market is totally saturated. Now, when you start contrasting quality with price, that's a different story. There are thousands of "okay" houses on the market that have probably been on the market for 6 months that you can get a great deal on. There are actually only very few great houses at rock bottom prices, and chances are those also haven't been on the market for very long, which means the seller will be wanting to do some hard-bargaining. Even in this market, for a great house, it will take some crafty bargaining to get a deal because of supply and demand -- there are actually very few terrific houses on the market (as Billy and I found out). For us, a terrific house was one that was not needing a lot of upfront maintenance and had been updated significantly from its dark 1980s (or 70s or 60s) origins.

I'm sure that's way more info than you wanted, but Billy and I have lived and breathed this for 3 months and it all ends 9/21/07!!!!

-Jill

RE: Inside the Countrywide Lending Spree - New York Times