It sounds too good to be true, but it is! It is actually cheaper to own than rent. Rents are going up while at the same time, market conditions have created a great opportunity for home buyers.  In fact, right now is one of the best times in decades to buy your own home.

There are a lot of factors to consider when determining whether to rent or own, but a central aspect is the monthly cost. Demand for renting has picked up and it is driving up the cost. A recent report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies found a full 35 percent of Americans decided to rent in 2012, up from 31 percent in 2004. Apartment vacancy rates are now at their lowest level since 2001. This is great news for anyone who wants to become a landlord, not so good for those who want to rent.

This new demand has helped to push up the cost of renting. The same Harvard study found that renting has become significantly less affordable in recent years. Real median rents adjusted for inflation increased by 6 percent nationally between 2000 and 2012, while the real median income of renters actually fell by 13 percent over the same period. In addition, the report found that half of U.S. renters spent more than 30 percent of their gross income on rent in 2010, up a record 12 percentage points from the year 2000.

This increase in rent brings us to an interesting crossroads. For the first time in more than 20 years, owning is cheaper than renting on a relative basis, according to Wes Moss, a certified financial planner and radio show host in Atlanta, Georgia.

Wes laid out the numbers in a recent article:

“In 1994 rents averaged $450 per month while mortgage payments averaged $550 a month.  In 2008 it was still less expensive to rent than buy — $700/month on average to rent versus $800 for a mortgage.  But in 2013 that changed. Rents now average $738/month while mortgages average $615.”

Wes isn’t the only one saying this. There is an overwhelming amount of data to support this claim. For example, a new report from Trulia found that, nationally, it’s 35 percent less expensive to own a home.

How about in Atlanta? Well, Trulia has launched a Rent vs. Buy calculator, a great tool that highlights the cost difference in specific metro areas. According to the calculator, if you are currently renting for $3,500 a month, you could purchase a $600,000 home for 27 percent less than what you are currently paying. How about for another statistic? It is 47 percent cheaper to purchase a home in metro-Atlanta for $300,000 than rent a home for $2,500 a month.

Not paying rent that high? Well, it is still 39 percent cheaper to purchase a $200,000 home if your rent is $1,500 a month. Click here to check out the calculator for yourself. All of these statistics include a 20 percent down payment on a 30 year fixed mortgage, estimated property taxes and a home insurance policy. The calculator does not include any estimates for association dues.

The bottom line is that it is an exceptionally good time to purchase a home. Whether you are a first time home buyer or an investor, low interest rates and competitive home prices have combined to make right now one of the best times in decades to purchase a home.

Don’t be the one who wished they took advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity!  Years from now, we will probably look back on this time as an exceptionally affordable time to own a home. The time to act is now.

If you are interested in discussing these new real estate opportunities, please contact Emily Freeman of Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Rd.

Emily Freeman
Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road
(cell) 770-366-8876
(office) 404-419-3500
(fax) 404-419-3501
emilyfreeman@kw.com

Looking for a fun date night? Or something the whole family can enjoy? Well, Atlanta is in no short supply of fun things to do right now – there is something for everyone! Here’s a quick list of some festive things to do before the end of the year:

It’s an Atlanta tradition: Macy’s Pink Pig at Lenox Square! It’s back again this year! The Pink Pig at Lenox Mall literally rolls on the tracks until January 5, 2014 and reasonably-priced tickets make this a Holiday activity the whole family can enjoy. For more information, please visit click here.

Ice skating is popular this time of year, but in classic Buckhead style, you can enjoy an ice staking rink at the St. Regis Atlanta! The 2013 Astor Holiday Rink is setup with lights, holiday music and plenty of hot cocoa and s’mores. It’s open seven days a week and tickets are $30 per hour for adults & $18 per hour for children.  Please visit StRegisAtlanta.com for more information.

You can also go downtown and to Atlantic Station for ice skating. The rink downtown is celebrating its 15th anniversary at Centennial Olympic Park and will be open until late January 2014. Atlantic Station will be hosting Atlanta’s largest outdoor skate experience, with a 10,000-square-foot, open-air ice-skating rink. Please click here and here for the details.

If you’re looking for an indoor activity, you can take the kids to Buckhead for Holly Jolly Holidays at LEGOLAND® Discovery Center in Phipps Plaza. There are a bunch of fun activities for the youngsters, including holiday scavenger hunts and the building of an 8-foot LEGO tree. LegoLandDiscoveryCenter.com has all the details.

The Atlanta Botanical Gardens is staying festive this year with a Holiday Model Train Show & Garden Lights! It’s a great idea for date night and will run until early January 2014. Reservations are recommended. Please check out AtlantaBotanicalGarden.org for all the information.

If you’re looking for something more traditional, you’ll love Atlanta Ballet’s performance of the Nutcracker at The Fox Theater. The show runs December 6th through December 29th. Tickets start at just $20. Please check out AtlantaBallet.com for more information.

While the Braves may be leaving Turner Field in a few years, an international winter wonderland has landed in the park this holiday season. The Global Winter Wonderland at Turner Field brings wonders of the world and landmarks from near and far to life in lights. The wonderland also includes live entertainment, carnival rides, visits with Santa and tons of lights! For more details, please check out GlobalWonderland.com.

If you are feeling the need to help others, the American Red Cross is trying something new this year: They will open the “Midtown Blood Donor Center” on Christmas Morning.  According to Fox 5, they already have a full roster of platelet donors for Christmas day, but they still have open slots available for blood donors. The center is located at 1955 Monroe Drive NE in Atlanta. They’ll be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 25. For more info, visit: RedCrossBlood.org.

Last but not least, the end of the year can be a great time to find a new home. If you are interested in discussing real estate opportunities, please contact Emily Freeman of Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Rd:

Emily Freeman
Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road
(cell) 770-366-8876
(office) 404-419-3500
(fax) 404-419-3501
emilyfreeman@kw.com

While the metro Atlanta real estate market has recorded some incredible gains over the past year, interest rates are likely to spike soon, a move that would dampen home affordability and as a result, soften home prices.

It all begins with the recent economic news. The U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 7.0 percent in November 2013 as the economy added 203,000 jobs. This positive employment news actually surpassed market expectations!

What does this have to do with the real estate market in Atlanta, you ask? Well, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been taking extraordinary measures to stimulate the economy through bond-buying quantitative easing (QE). The goal of this QE program is to lower interest rates and free up bank reserves so that individuals and businesses can borrow money at exceptionally low rates, which will subsequently stimulate economic activity. Lending plays a huge part in our economy and cheaper rates mean easier access to money.

Sounds great doesn’t it? Unfortunately, the Fed can’t continue QE forever and when it does stop, interest rates will return to higher, more historically normal levels.  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in June that the Fed might begin to slowly end QE when the unemployment rate is “in the vicinity” of 7 percent. Well, hello 7 percent, it looks like we may be near the end of super low interest rates.

An uptick in lending rates could cause a softening of real estate prices in the metro Atlanta area. Why is this? Because higher lending rates will drive down the affordability of loans, thus weakening demand and as a result, softening prices.

In fact, this weakening of demand is already happening. The Mortgage Bankers Association recently said applications for U.S. home loans declined for the fifth straight week.  In addition, the National Association of Realtors reported last month that pending homes sales declined for the fifth consecutive month. This weakening of demand is going to impact home prices.

Need more proof? According to Moody’s Analytics, in 1994 the average 30-year mortgage increased from 7.1 percent to 9.2 percent by the end of the year, causing the annual home price gains to drop from 13 percent to 7 percent.  This also happened in 1996 when interest rates rose from 7 percent to 8.3 percent, slowing the annual gain for homes from 11 percent to 3 percent later in the year.

In the past year, the metro Atlanta real estate market has made an incredible rebound. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Index found that metro Atlanta home prices in September 2013 increased 18.7 percent from a year ago. Homes that were underwater are now poised to bring big return, but this rapid gain is unlikely to continue!

The time to sell is now, before interest rates cause prices to cool off!  An uptick in interest rates, or even the threat of an increase, will likely cause a slowdown in the real estate market.
If you are interested in discussing these new real estate opportunities, please contact Emily Freeman of Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Rd.

Emily Freeman
Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road
(cell) 770-366-8876
(office) 404-419-3500
(fax) 404-419-3501
emilyfreeman@kw.com

Great news for homeowners anywhere in metro Atlanta: homes are showing double digit price increases!

According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Index, metro Atlanta home prices in September 2013 increased 18.7 percent from a year ago. Out of the entire 20 cities in the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, metro Atlanta recorded the 5th highest increase in year over year home prices.

But home prices all over the country are making some big comebacks. The report said the average price gain in the 20 largest U.S. cities in September was 13.3 percent compared to a year ago. In fact, this is the biggest increase since February 2006.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Index report said average home prices across the United States in the third quarter of 2013 were back to their levels posted in the second quarter of 2004. While it once seemed like the real estate market would never recover, national average home prices are now only 20 percent below their peak in the summer of 2006.

This current real estate market presents a strong opportunity to home owners across metro Atlanta. Buyers are looking for homes and prices are much higher than they have been in the past.

If you are interested in discussing these new real estate opportunities, please contact Emily Freeman of Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Rd:

Emily Freeman
Keller Williams Realty Peachtree Road
(cell) 770-366-8876
(office) 404-419-3500
(fax) 404-419-3501
emilyfreeman@kw.com