November 20, 2008

As a Realtor® and owner of a nationwide relocation company, I am daily faced with the effects of the economic meltdown on our real estate members all over the country. Consumer confidence is at an all time low which is adding to the current housing crisis. Buyers who have stable jobs and good income are postponing purchasing a home due to fear.

We need action by lawmakers NOW - not in January. Hopefully the lame duck Congress will listen to reason, and pass some meaningful bills! Bills that will RESTORE CONSUMER CONFIDENCE so that homebuyers are not frozen by fear! Even in areas which have a strong economy (low unemployment, healthy job outlook, no real estate bubble bursting) buyers are holding off buying – waiting for a lower interest rate, or the assurance that they'll buy at the absolute bottom price. They are also frustrated with the current lending environment that places a variety of barriers to getting a mortgage. This further impedes sales and price stabilization of the housing market.

A recent consumer survey conducted by Realogy Corp. (a National Association of Realtors ® member) stated how important housing is to this country's economic recovery. The survey found that nine out of 10 homeowners believe that owning a home is still the best long-term investment. But this same survey said that most people are not buying right now because of uncertainty about the market.

Recently the National Association of Realtors® sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson outlining steps he could take to stabilize the housing market. They also presented this plan to the House Financial Services Committee on November 18th. The four steps the recommended are:

1) Make the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all homebuyers and eliminate the repayment requirement.
2) Make the increased 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent so that all American families can find a safe and affordable mortgage when buying a home.
3) Get the $700 billion Treasury relief program back on track and focused on providing stability to the nation's housing markets and reducing foreclosures.
4) Bar banks from real estate brokerage and management activities permanently, to avoid exposing consumers and the economy to more unnecessary risks.

NAR also provided an economic analysis demonstrating that a reduction, or a buydown, of interest rates by just 1 percentage point could result in up to 840,000 additional home sales and reduce the inventory of homes by as much as 20 percent. Substantially lower mortgage rates would stimulate both existing- and new-home sales.

These are great first steps to getting home sales going again.

It was Richard Nixon who said, "A recession is anytime people lose confidence in the future." Now is the time to restore confidence, people!

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Local Information for Athens, GA

Latitude: 33.955464 -- Longitude: -83.383245

ZIP Codes for Athens, Georgia	30601 30602 30603 30604 30605 30606 30607 30608 30609 30612
Area Code for Athens, Georgia	706
Time zone for Athens, Georgia	EST

Other Area Cities: Athens, GA Bogart, GA Winterville, GA Winder, GA Watkinsville, GA

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Athens is a city in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state, at the eastern terminus of Georgia 316.Athens became a unified government with Clarke County, Georgia in 1990. It is home to the University of Georgia, a major educational institution in the South and a football powerhouse in the Southeastern Conference. Athens officially became a town in December 1806 with a government made up of a three-member commission. The university continued to grow, but so did the town, with cotton mills fueling the industrial and commercial development. Athens became known as the "Manchester of the South" after the city in England known for its mills. In 1841, railroad lines were laid through Athens, expanding the commercial development and connecting the city with Atlanta to the west and Greenville, South Carolina to the north. As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 100,266 people living in Athens. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Georgia 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Athens	Georgia	United States
Population	100,266	8,186,453	281,421,906
Median age	25.3	33.4	35.3
Median age for Male	25	32.1	34
Median age for Female	25.6	34.6	36.5
Households	39,239	3,006,369	105,480,101
Household population	92,125	7,952,631	273,643,273
Average household size	2.35	2.65	2.59
Families	19,333	2,111,647	71,787,347
Average family size	2.95	3.14	3.14
Housing units	41,633	3,281,737	115,904,641
Occupied units	39,239	3,006,369	105,480,101
Vacant units	2,394	275,368	10,424,540

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November 20, 2008

Local Information for Athens, GA

Latitude: 33.955464 -- Longitude: -83.383245

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