Housing news for Atlanta improves

By John Adams

For the AJC

With all the bad news surrounding real estate over the past few years, one might think that Americans have largely abandoned the idea of home ownership as part of the American dream.

Not so, according to the “2009 National Housing Pulse Survey,” an annual telephone survey of 1,250 adults living in the 25 largest metro areas. Atlanta was included in the survey.

Even though we are in the midst of a serious economic slowdown, and unemployment is at unusually high levels, 83 percent of Americans still believe that buying a home is a good financial decision.

Three-fourths of those surveyed also believe that now is a good time to begin the process of buying a home. Importantly, that number has been rising steadily for the past two years and is up 16 points since 2007.

Concerns about job security and possible unemployment have grown dramatically in the past year. Some 83 percent agreed that “having enough confidence in their job security” was an obstacle to owning, while 51 percent went on to say that it was a “huge” obstacle, an increase of 23 points since 2007.

Respondents cited having enough cash for a downpayment and closing costs as the second primary obstacle to buying now. More than four in five stated that coming up with the needed funds would be a huge or medium roadblock to a home purchase. That percentage has remained unchanged over the past two years.

One scary statistic this year is the level of anxiety about “people falling behind on their mortgages.” More than four in five Americans say they have some level of concern, and 54 percent say they are very concerned about it. However, 92 percent said that foreclosure was not an issue for them or their immediate family in the past year.

One positive conclusion from the survey is that Americans seem to believe that the housing market has stabilized.

That notion was reinforced last week, at least locally, by Genworth Mortgage Insurance, who removed the Atlanta MSA from its national list of “declining and distressed markets.” That’s important because mortgage insurance is used by many homebuyers to reduce the amount of cash needed at the closing table.

John Adams is a broker and investor. He answers real estate questions on radio station WGKA (920am) every Saturday at noon. For real estate information or to make a comment, visit www.money99.com.