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The 2009 Hamilton Mill Real Estate Data Will Be Released Tomorrow / Feb 1, 2010

Posted By Matt Fagioli on January 31st, 2010

We’ve been hard at work on the Annual Report for Hamilton Mill that will give you all the details on the 99 homes that sold last year in Hamilton Mill Golf Club. It’s certainly less volume of sales than we’ve seen in previous years (down about 30%). It also takes much longer (on average) to sell the houses and, of course, the pricing is down substantially.

But, the good news is that 99 homes DID sell this past year — so, the world is still turning and homes are still selling!

On the other side of the coin, buyers are getting fantastic deals on all kinds of real estate. If you are moving up and buying another home, it’s very likely that you’ll be able to buy an amazing home at a rock bottom price right now. Investment properties are also a great idea right now.

Be sure to add yourself to our mailing list here for the Hamilton Mill Real Estate Annual Report.

btw, we’ll also be sending out updates on a quarterly basis in 2010.

New FHA Changes Make NOW The Time to Close :)

Posted By Matt Fagioli on January 29th, 2010

This new data came to us yesterday from our good friends over at Primary Residential Mortgage…

Waiting a few extra days or weeks to purchase a home this spring could cost buyers thousands of extra dollars as the office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) implements several changes for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

Coming just weeks before the April 30 deadline for the Home Buyer Tax Credit and just days after the March 31 expiration of the Federal Reserve Board’s mortgage backed securities purchase program (which has kept home loan rates artificially low for over a year), these FHA changes make it even more important to act now to save big.

Here are a few reasons why:

On April 5th, the cost of required up-front mortgage insurance for loans guaranteed by the FHA will increase from 1.75% to 2.25%. For a borrower purchasing a $200,000 home with a $7,000 down payment, the up-front mortgage insurance will increase by $965. Up-front mortgage insurance is typically financed in the final loan amount so the impact to a monthly payment will be minimal but overall, the increase is still borne by the borrower both upfront and monthly.

Later this spring, the amount of money that a seller can return to the buyer from their sale proceeds will be reduced from 6% to 3%. The reduction in these “seller concessions” can increase the amount of cash a buyer will be required to pay at closing by $6,000 for a home purchase of $200,000.

There is only one way to avoid being affected by all of these costly changes that lie ahead – submit all FHA mortgage applications by the last week of March.

(Thanks Gabie!)

84 Active Listings for Hamilton Mill Real Estate (as of Jan. 28, 2010)

Posted By Matt Fagioli on January 28th, 2010

I just took a quick look at the FMLS system for Hamilton Mill. Right now there’s 84 homes for sale in Hamilton Mill Golf Community. That’s a pretty good level of inventory — not too high and not too low. At times in the past, we’ve had 150+ homes on the market. That puts things way out of balance and drives price down while increasing the amount of time that it takes to sell your house.

There’s a couple of things that I noticed when I looked at this data.

#1. The prices for many properties are really low (the lowest is just $169k)

#2. Some of these homes have been on the market for a year or even 2 years.

#3. There’s an obvious division between the two.

So, here’s what I’m saying…

Homes come on the market at a good price and they sell in a reasonable amount of time (like 90 to 120 days). But, other homes come on the market at “old market prices” and they just sit on the market for months and then years.

What can we do…

The bottom line for Hamilton Mill homeowners is that selling a home today is going to take some pretty aggressive pricing — probably more aggressive than you think.

The good news is that homes are, in fact, selling.

By my count, 99 homes sold in Hamilton Mill during 2009.

We’re about to publish our Hamilton Mill Real Estate Annual Report for 2009. Just fill out the form here to receive your copy.

Of course, we’re happy to provide whatever custom data you might want and customize a report for homes that are directly comparable to your own home, etc.

Happy New Year from Diamond Dwellings!

Posted By Matt Fagioli on January 2nd, 2010

It’s a very new year for the real estate market in Gwinnett. We’re expecting more stable prices, great interest rates and an increase in overall sales volume in 2010.

Need more information? Call us anytime at 678.279.4700

Regards,

Matt Fagioli
Founder @ Diamond Dwellings
matt@diamonddwellings.com