We all have heard the news of the troubled housing market, government bail outs, and major companies going into bankruptcy. Pretty scary stuff! You are probably wondering if this is even a good time to buy a new home or upgrade your current home. There are a lot of homes for sale in the Atlanta Metropolitan area, in all price ranges, and now more affordable than ever before.

1. You can make an offer. For the first time in years, sellers are actually considering offers below the asking price on many properties! Today the sales price vs the price sellers are accepting can range from 80 to 97 percent. Doing research on a property and working with your agent can help you come up with an offer that the seller might not be able to refuse.

2. Move in ready Foreclosures. Due to the current market conditions many foreclosures are coming on to the market. Banks are selling foreclosures in some cases at 60cents on the dollar that the original loan was obtained for. Sometimes unfortunate things happen to good people, and they lose their homes. A significant amount of foreclosures on the market are in move in ready conditions.

3. There are plenty of specs. Builders are still building homes with fewer buyers. This means that they have more spec homes available, than ever before. Spec homes are homes where the builder’s design team chooses all the specifications from brick color, flooring, lighting fixtures etc. The longer a home is in a builder’s inventory, the better the chances of getting a lower price on that home rather than a home you build from ground up. Spec homes are also easier to negotiate prices on rather than building a home to your specifications. From time to time builder are dropping prices drastically on these spec homes.

4. Location, location, location. Only in today’s buyers can find homes closer to work or in the 285 perimeter at prices that are extremely affordable. In recent times, homes within the perimeter were not for all budgets. In this market, reasonably priced homes are within biking or walking distance to schools, jobs and MARTA.

5. Real Financing is available. The ‘wink, wink’ no doc, adjustable, sub-prime loans are gone. Thirty year, conservative fixed rates are back! FHA financing, first time homeowner programs, special loans for teachers and police officers are also back in business. With interest rates dropping now is the BEST time to buy a home!