June 6th, 2009 by Scott
Today I welcome another real estate proffesional and friend to this blog. Daniel Smelcer is with BB&T and brings us a history lesson:
Hindsight is always 20/20, but this New York Times article, now almost ten years old, sheds some light on the early days of subprime mortgage lending, where the push came from, and what the motivations were. It also includes an eerie quote from Peter Wallison, at the time a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who predicted that if Fannie Mae’s new policies fail, “the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.”
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/30/business/fannie-mae-eases-credit-to-aid-mortgage-lending.html
Daniel Smelcer is the Financial Leader of BB&T’s Decatur Main branch. In addition to managing the branch, Daniel makes second mortgages, lot loans, and small business loans. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2004 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, and has been with BB&T ever since. He lives in Decatur with his wife, Susan, a graduate student at Emory University.
BB&T, daniel smelcer, home buyers, Mortgage, subprime mortgage
March 18th, 2009 by Scott
Long has been the winter of our discontent. Well maybe things are changing. An article by Michael Kanell and Kevin Duffy in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports a 22% rise in new home starts. The activity was centered around multifamily construction but also saw a rise in single family homes. Discussions with several Realtors I have had in the Atlanta area shows some promise.
Chip Ivie is a realtor with Keller Williams Metro Atlanta and he is guardedly optimistic, “Spring is always the top selling season and this year is showing a spring thaw in activity, but we will have to see activity carry through summer to start thinking things are turning around.” Chip says, “The old advice is still the best, be priced right for the market, and make sure the home shows excellent, there are too many homes for sell and you have to make sure your’s stands out.”
Investors are beginning to asorb some of the foreclosures and distressed properties. On one hand this helps reduce inventory but on the other short or distressed sales prices drive down appraisals in the area. Investors are also facing problems with finding funding for purchase and rehabs of these properties which is leaving cash as king.
You can find the AJC article at http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2009/03/17/housing_starts_atlanta.html
Scott
atlanta, bank owned real estate, Chip Ivie, home buyers, home prices, home sales, home sellers, real estate investing, real estate market, scott farmer, shortsales, toxic assets
