New Housing Permits only 37% of 2005 Levels

The credit market crisis alone, which started with last summer’s subprime mortgage meltdown and has since resulted in a broad-based mortgage credit crunch for prospective home buyers, has depressed housing sector activity by an additional 30%, National Association Home Builders economists calculate. As a result, housing permits nationwide have plunged to only 37% of their levels at the height of the boom in 2005

Hoschton Fall Festival

Hoschton Fall Festival will be Sept. 26 - 27 2008 This year's event will host 2 High Energy, Hard-Kicking, Blow the Roof Off Bands ----- Bill Gentry and the 35 Cent Rodeo & Banks and Shane. For more info. go to www.cityofhoschton.com

Do You Have A Real Estate Question

Have a Real Estate question? Wondering about buying, selling, financing, refinancing or renting? Send your inquiry to Ray at ray@selectbrokersrealty.com

Home Sales Rising in Late 2008

The good news: home sales have stabilized over the last seven months and should increase slightly in the second half of 2008, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told a crowd of REALTORS® at NAR’s Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo Thursday. The other good news is that the subprime lending crisis is becoming a thing of the past. “I believe 2008 will be the year when we have to clean up and recover from the subprime mess"

Jackson County Boys & Girls Club Net $60,000

The Boys & Girls Club of Jackson County held a fundraiser Friday night and netted more than $60,000 through both live and silent auctions. The Boys and Girls club is open to children ages 6 to 15 for membership for $25 per year.
For more info. call Michael Williams 706-367-8553.

Hoschton Seeks Guinness World Record

Hoschton is seeking a spot in the Guinness World Records with the Most Scarecrows in one location. The current record is 3,311 held by Cincinnati Horticultural Society's Flower and Farm Fest. Hoschton plans to have 4,000 displayed throughout Hoschton's Addresses for the Fall Festival on Sept. 26-27.

Housing Market of the Future

Smaller Houses. In a February survey of potential home buyers by the National Association of Home Builders, 60 percent said they would rather have a smaller house with more amenities than vice versa. "In the past, people would say 'Give me space and I'll add the features later,' " says Gopal Ahluwalia, the NAHB's vice president of research. Newly built houses will have layouts that can "live bigger" than their square footage would suggest, with rooms that can do double duty, experts say.

Housing Crisis - Not The First Time

The age of industrialization hardly ushered in a society of home owners. In 1900 nearly 40% of Americans were living in urban areas, double the percentage from 40 years earlier. But 75% of those dewellers were renters. No doubt many didn't see homeownership as a realistic possibility.
In 1921 construction of housing units soared from 449,000 units to 937,000 in 1925. The following year the air started coming out of the real estate boom. By 1929 construction had dropped to 509,000 units. In October the stock market plunged; the Great Depression was on.
The Depression left many home owners unable to renew their mortgages at reasonable rates. Between 1930 and 1940 about 1,000 homes were foreclosed daily and homeownership plummeted more than 25%. By 1940 the homeownership rate was at 43.6% below the 47.9% it had been 20 years earlier.
On May 7, 1933 President Roosevelt in a radio broadcast outlined the "New Deal" program. He said "Congress is about to pass legislation that will greatly ease the mortgage distress among the farmers and the home owners of the nation by providing for the easing of the burden of debt now bearing so heavily upon millions of our people."
The Home Owners Loan Corp. that Congress authorized in 1933 helped save thousands of destressed home owners from losing their houses. It called for the federal government to issue bonds that home owners could exchange for home mortgages. In 1934 Congress established the Federal Housing Act (FHA).
More readily available and affordable mortgages helped spur home building and buying.
The country's entry into World War II again currtailed homebuilding, but the G.I. Bill in 1944 made low interest home, farm and business loans readily available with 100% loan to value ratios.
SO IF 100% LOANS HAVE BE AVAILABLE SINCE 1944 - WHY IS EVERYONE BLAMING OUR CURRENT HOUSING CRISIS ON THESE TYPE LOANS?
Before citizens could take advantage of this program builders had to address the serious housing shortage that existed. By 1947 millions of husbands and wives and children were living bunched up with their in-laws.
The housing boom that followed the war is one of the defining moments in America's housinf history. Homeownership increased more than 11% fro 1940 to 1950 and jumped another 7% by 1960, passing the 60% mark.
Over the next 40 years the percentage of Americans owning their home continued to rise. Homeownership peaked at 68.9% in2005, a year that marked the end of a prolonged housing boom.
CONGRESS NEEDS TO STEP FORWARD, AS THEY DID IN THE PREVIOUS ECONOMIC CRISIS, TO REFORM THE FHA AND TO ESTABLISH A HOMEBUYERS TAX CREDIT THAT WOULD RESTORE CONFIDENCE TO CONSUMERS.

Don't Be Caught Unaware of Problems

A pre-listing home inspection can uncover previously unknown problems - major and minor - allowing sellers the opportunity to make repairs or replacements as needed. By addressing these issues before the home goes on the market, you can list a home with confidence in its condition and will have a better chance of maximizing its value. Being aware of issues in advance will also allow for disclosure of problems when selling, which can result in cleaner offers and a smoother transaction for both parties.

Loan Plan for Homeowners

Struggling U.S. homeowners could receive federal loans to pay down as much as 20% of their principal under a proposal introduced Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to help stem foreclosures.
The plan would be run through the Treasury Department, which would make the loans.
The program would hinge on the willingness of mortgage servicers and investors to agree to restructure troubled loans, as well as to pay the financing cost of making the federal loans.

Home Values Are Down

Home prices are down about 12% since the height of the housing boom in 2005 and incomes have grown 14%, bringing “prices relative to income to about where they were in 2003” during this year’s first quarter I believe we have flushed out most of the excess.

Mortgage Rates Jump

Freddie Mac reports a jump in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.03 percent during the week ended April 24, from 5.88 percent the prior week, marking the first time in six weeks that mortgage rates rose above 6 percent. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate climbed during the same period, edging up to 5.62 percent from 5.40 percent.

Braselton Antique & Gardening Festival

Braselton Antique & Gardening Festival set for this weekend April 26 & 27
(Braselton) The semi-annual Braselton Antique and Gardening Festival "goes green before green became cool" this weekend by offering workshops in addition to the booths of antiques, vintage items, collectibles and gardening merchandise. Scheduled for Saturday (9:00-6:00) and Sunday (10:00-5:00) in Braselton Park, all events, exhibits and workshops are free. Food and beverage vendors will be in the park. Timely workshops are hosted by area professionals. "Drought tolerant plants, vegetable gardening and dividing/planting day lilies" are workshops to be presented in the park pavilion. Helpful information on water conservation, forest fire prevention and growing organic foods will be offered by exhibitors. Hometown Community Bank is the presenting sponsor of the festival. Admission and parking are free at the two-day events. The Braselton Park is located one block west of GA 53 in downtown Braselton (Exit 129 from I-85). For further information, telephone 706.654-3693.

Government Efforts with Mortgage Crisis

Some state officials, frustrated by what they view as the federal government's inadequate response to the mortgage crisis, are taking increasingly aggressive steps to address the rising rate of foreclosures.
Company and government efforts to address the mortgage crisis have done little to stanch foreclosures, state officials said.
The Silver Lining: The number of delinquent borrowers working with lenders has increased, they said.
States such as Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Virginia are looking at extending the foreclosure process or have already taken such steps in an effort to give borrowers more time to work out repayment plans with their lenders. Rising foreclosures hurt not just troubled borrowers, state officials say, but also their neighbors and communities.

Fuel Cost and Housing

The real cost of housing is significantly higher than we think when transportation is factored into the equation, according to a joint study by the Center for Neighborhood Technology and the Center for Transit Oriented Development.These organizations have developed a database that measures affordability in 52 major metropolitan areas around the country. The farther from public transportation a community is located the higher its cost of living. In some cities, the cost of housing is less than 30 percent of income, but when transportation is added in the costs can be as much as 65 percent of income. Gasoline at $1 and gasoline at $3 are whole different worlds.

Jazz Concert

Jackson County Comprehesive High School will be the host location for several jazz concerts from East and West Middle Schools and High School jazz bands. The concert starts at 7:30 pm

Welcome -- Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market - a natural & organic foods grocer opened it regional distribution center in a 111,000 sq. ft. building located on Hwy. 124 Braselton.

Housing Slowdown Goes Beyond U.S.

Countries in the rest of the world are beginning to feel their own versions of the U.S. housing downturn.In Ireland, Spain, Britain, and elsewhere, housing markets are returning to earth after soaring for decades. Experts worry that these countries could suffer the mortgage defaults and foreclosures that have been such a problem in California, Florida, and other U.S. states.''The problems in the U.S. are being transmitted to Europe,'' says Michael Ball, professor of urban and property economics at the University of Reading in Britain, who studies housing prices. ''What's happening now is an awful lot more grief than we expected.''The problem is most acute in Spain, where more than 4 million homes have been built in the last decade – more than in Germany, Britain, and France combined. Now property values have dropped more than 15 percent and mortgages are drying up.

No-Downpayment Mortgages Gone for Good?

While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still have products that allow borrowers to finance 100% of their home purchases, at a higher cost, the major private mortgage insurance companies have recently backed off insuring these loans.

Petco Moving To Braselton

Petco -- a national retailer of pet foods plans to open a large distribution center in Braselton's Business Park with a 506,200 square foot facility.