Athens Georgia Real Estate Appraisal Services

Appraisal Institute Presentation on

2009-09-22T20:44:00Z

Explanation of the statistical approach to establishing a value for residential real estate by Larry D. McGee, The Berkshire Group, Denver, Colorado
Appraisal Institute Presentation

Athens Georgia Real Estate Market Statistics Report 2006 YTD versus 2007 YTD

2008-02-17T10:16:00Z

The good news: Athens, Georgia's housing statistics for year end 2006 versus 2007 show a mostly stable market for average home sales prices!

6 out of 13 areas in and around Athens, GA had an increase in average sales price

Great News: Area 6 - Five Points in Athens, Area 10 - Madison County, and Area 13 - Oglethorpe County, have had an increased number of sales in the first half of the year.

The not so great news: The number of homes sold in the year 2007 versus the number of homes sold in the year of 2006 has decreased in 10 out of 13 areas in and around Athens, GA.

Average Days on the Market:

Days on market has actually decreased in four areas.
Days on market sharply increased in three areas.
Days on market remained mostly stable with only slight changes in six areas.

Area 1 =West Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 2 = North Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 3 = Winterville & East Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 4 = East Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 5= West Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 6 = Five Point Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 7 = South Oconee County, GA

Area 8 = Watkinsville, Oconee County, GA

Area 9 = West Oconee County, GA

Area 10- North Madison County, GA

Area 11 = South Madison County, GA

Area 12 = Jackson County, GA

Area 13 = Oglethorpe County, GA

Overall, the Athens Georgia real estate market appears to have slowed in many areas, but average sales prices have remained mostly steady.

All information believed accurate, but not guaranteed. Statistical data compiled from Athens ILS reports.

Barrow County Georgia Housing Statistics - 1/2008

2008-01-22T03:13:00Z

City of Winder, Georgia Housing Statistics:

The median single family home price for Winder, Georgia is $163,096*.
Days on Market for Homes Currently Listed - The average property in Winder, Georgia has been on the market for about 104 days.
The median price per square foot for homes in Winder is about $96.
There are currently about 607 properties on the market in Winder, GA.

City of Bethlehem, Georgia Housing Statistics:

The median single-family home price for Bethlehem, Georgia is $177,136*.
Days on Market for Homes Currently Listed - The average property has been on the market for about 95 days.
The median price per square foot for is about $99
There are about 195 properties on the market in Behtlehem, GA.

City of Statham, Georgia Housing Statistics:

The median single family home price for Statham, Georgia is $141,271*.
Days on Market for Homes Currently Listed - The average property has been on the market for about 102 days.
The median price per square foot is about $94.
There are about 99 properties on the market in Statham, Georgia.

City of Auburn, Georgia:

The median single family home price Auburn, Georgia is $193,075*.
Days on Market for Homes Currently Listed - The average property has been on the market for about 99 days.
The median price per square foot is about $100.
There are about 216 properties on the market in Auburn, Georgia.

Additional County wide real estate information for Barrow County, GA:

There are currently 1,072 homes listed for sale on GA MLS in Barrow County.
For the year 2007, GA MLS reports 1,486 homes sold in Barrow County.

*Based on the prior 12 month average.

(Data compiled 1/6/2008 from several sources including Georgia MLS; Athens ILS, Building Trends, and other sources. All information is believed accurate, but not guaranteed.)

John Bryant - In Recognition of a Georgia Appraisal Industry Leader!

2007-12-09T06:55:00Z

Congratulations to John Bryant for his nomination to the Turknett Leadership Character Awards. This year a new category, education, was added. 2008 will be the group's 5th Annual Awards. John Bryant s revered as an appraisal instructor and advocate in Georgia and is assisted in his daily work by his lovely wife, Joella.

In addition to excellent classroom instruction, John also provides a forum for appraisers from Georgia and other states (including regular visitors from Oregon and Florida) to gather and discuss real estate appraisal industry issues. For the past two years, John has also hosted a picnic for appraisers in Georgia to come to together to network and celebrate the survival of another year.

The awards luncheon will be held Feb. 4, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia.

John has played a crucial part in my personal development as a real estate appraiser and I would like to take this opportunity to say "Thank You"!

Mortgage Fraud - Georgia in the top ten states

2007-12-08T05:01:00Z

Unfortunately, Georgia still remains in the top ten of the list we really don't want to be a part of. The Federal Bureau of Investigations site has a full report of mortgage fraud investigations in 2006 with projections for pending investigations.

An Excel Worksheet & Explanation of Caluculating Housing Absorption Rates

2007-09-28T02:23:00Z

I have Excel sheets set up to do comparisons of days on market, average sales price and every other statistic on housing I can think of that I may every need for real estate sales or real estate appraisals. Here is the Excel worksheet I use, that you are welcome to utilize.

Or read on to do it the manual way.....This is a simplification of the process: Choose your period (typically last twelve months, but I recently had a lender ask for a 3 month absorption rate);

Find the total number of sales for the area (this can also be narrowed by price range, it really depends on the type of analysis);
Find the number of active listings for the same parameters; divide the sales by the active inventory.
There is your absorption rate.

This can be really simple or get very complex, depending on the need.

Then to determine if the marketing time and if there is an oversupply, take your absorption rate
Then divide your current listings in your market area by the absorption rate.

For example, during 2006 in zip code XXXXX, the MLS shows 450 sales. 450/12 = 37.5 sales per month. The MLS shows a total of 372 active listings in zip XXXXX. 372/37.5 = 9.9 months supply of active listings in the MLS indicating an oversupply and a marketing time exceeding 6 months.

You can see the results of a recent housing analysis of the Athens, Georgia area on my blog sites All About Athens GA or GA Real Estate Appraisal. Having these statsistics on housing available to the public recently lead to several media opportunities including these quotes on Athens Georgia Housing and speaking to 30+- mortgage loan officers last Friday at their monthly luncheon...just one more way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Countrywide Lays Off 12,000 workers

2007-09-08T13:59:00Z

On August 18th, I wrote "It's my opinion that Countrywide's troubles aren't over yet, but I hope they are able to hang in the mortgage business as foreclosure continue to rise in many areas of the country. The loss of jobs and stability in the market would be huge , should Countrywide fail. There is talk and as always rumors flying around regarding a potential government bailout, should the situation worsen."

Unfortunately, Business Week reports an announced bloodbath, as predicited. According to Business Week "Countrywide, the nation's largest and recently most-embattled mortgage lender, announced it was laying off as many as 12,000 people today, roughly one-fifth of its 61,000-strong workforce. In a letter to employees company founder and ceo Angelo Mozilo called the current slump "the most severe in the contemporary history of our industry." He said home price appreciation had "stopped dead in its tracks," that there had been increased delinquencies in "far too many borrowers" and that the secondary market for jumbo loans and those that don't qualify for government-sponsored insurance "has become nearly illiquid."

In a Countrywide internal letter, it is predicted that 2008 origination volume will decrease by 25% for 2008 versus 2007. It is another sad day in the industry with the loss of this many jobs, which further destabilizes the economy.

The Big Bad Wolf Sues The Watchdog

2007-09-06T19:36:00Z

On 6/25/2007, AppraisalScoop.com reported that Pamela Crowley, founder of Mortgage Fraud Watch List, which "is a database of addresses, submitted by real estate professionals from all 50 states, where a sale or refinance transaction has suspicious activity" is being sued by eAppraiseIT, an appraisal management company.

According to Brian Davis on AppraisalScoop.com, who has watched as this situation unfolds, "It appears that the controversy centers around a claim by Pamela that eAppraiseIT is unlocking and changing security settings in appraisal reports that pass through them to lender clients".

Pamela Crowley has asked for financial support to help her battle this lawsuit. AppraisalScoop.com has done a spectacular job of compiling the issues, responses, quotes from both side and more, so instead of trying to re-post these large documents, I'm going to suggest you read the rest of the story at AppraisalScoop.com and decide for yourself what this situation warrants!

Foreclosure rates are rising, mortgage fraud is rising...unscrupulous lenders and appraisers are being blamed! Industry watchdogs are springing up to try and get a grasp what is going on and several groups are making headway. The Georgia Real Estate Fraud Prevention & Awareness Coalition does an excellent job of "watchdogging" and educating consumers, lenders agents, and appraisers of how to spot and prevent mortgage fraud. The Mortgage Fraud Blog also acts a as "clearinghouse for recent mortgage fraud schemes, indictments and prevention". There is no question that mortgage fraud has affected almost every market.

Do you think this is an industry watchdog being hounded by an appraisal management company whom she has called out for poor practices or a bunch of hype over nothing?

Athens Georgia Home Sales Statistics

2007-09-06T19:20:00Z

The good news: Athens, Georgia's housing statistics for the 1st half of 2007 as
compared with the 1st half of 2006 - show signs of being mostly stable in average sales price!

Five out of 13 areas show minimal change in average sales price.
Only two out of 13 areas compared show a significant decrease in average sales price.
Six out of 13 areas show an increase in average sales price.

Great News: Area 3 - Winterville, Area 6 - Five Points in Athens,and
Area 13 - Oglethorpe County, have had an increased number of sales
in the first half of the year.

The not so great news: The number of homes sold in the first half of
the year 2007 versus the number of homes sold in the first half of 2006
has decreased in 10 out of 13 areas in and around Athens, GA.

Six of the areas measured have had over a 20% decline in numbers of homes sold.
Average Days on the Market have increased significantly in 6 of the areas measured.

Area 1 =West Athens Clarke Co GA

Area 2 = North Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 3 = Winterville & East Athens Clarke County

Area 4 = East Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 5= West Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 6 = Five Point Athens Clarke County, GA

Area 7 = South Oconee County, GA

Area 8 = Watkinsville, Oconee County, GA

Area 9 = West Oconee County, GA

Area 10- North Madison County, GA

Area 11 = South Madison County, GA

Area 12 = Jackson County, GA

Area 13 = Oglethorpe County, GA

View Athens Georgia metro housing statistics for 2007 with all data points by numbers.

Overall, the Athens Georgia real estate market appears to have slowed
in most areas, but average sales prices have remained mostly steady.

Understanding Mortgage Fraud from a Financial Institution's View

2007-09-06T18:46:00Z

Mortgage Fraud has been receiving tremendous press in the media lately, leading some to believe these are new schemes and new problems.

As early as 2003, incidences of mortgage fraud were increasing, as evidenced by the white paper produced by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. To view the full white paper, click on the following: The Detection, Investigation and Deterrence of Mortgage Loan Fraud White Paper.