Case-Shiller Home Price Index data for October 2008:

Nationwide: 10-city index is down 2.1 percent for the month, 19.1 for the year. 20-city index is down 2.2 percent for the month and 18.0 percent for the year.

Atlanta: 2.4 percent decline for the month. 10.5 percent drop for the year.

It’s Atlanta’s first report of double-digit declines in home prices.

Happy new year!

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

EL CHIVO ALI, originally uploaded by szen_volta.

The competition among real estate investors just got a little easier: KB Homes is giving up on the Atlanta market.

I guess their Martha Stewart-inspired communities weren’t enough to get them through the real estate downturn.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

Departure lounge, originally uploaded by DirectorUzi.

The number of housing starts and building permits both fell to new record lows in a sign that the slump in the U.S. housing market is continuing.

Nationwide, total housing starts dropped 18.9 percent in November and were 47.0 percent below last year. Single family starts alone were down 16.9 percent from last month and 46.0 percent from last November.

In the south, single-family housing starts slid 13.6 percent from October and 45.7 percent from last year.

Building permits last month fared no better: nationwide they were down a total of 15.6 percent for the month and 48.1 percent for the year. Single-family permits were down 12.3 percent from October and 46.3 percent from last year.

The south saw single-family permits drop 14.0 percent from November to a level 48.5 percent below November 2007.

The reports were much lower than expected, and show that the bottom is continuing to drop out of the housing market.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

Nails, originally uploaded by gunnar3001.

We’d love to be your closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

Foreclosure filings dropped 7 percent last month, according to the most-recent report from RealtyTrac.

But don’t start celebrating an end to the housing meltdown quite yet. While a drop in the number of foreclosures certainly is a good thing, the numbers indicate that this is simply a lull in the storm.

November’s foreclosure filings fell to one in every 488 homes in the nation. While down from October, the pace of foreclosures was still 28 percent above last year.

And that drop in November? Primarily due to temporary foreclosure prevention efforts such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s “keep your home for the holiday” programs which suspended foreclosures over Christmas.

Nevada once again ranked first in the nation in foreclosures, with Georgia sixth.

Last month the number of foreclosures in Georgia increased 1.04 percent and was 11.54 percent above last year’s level, with 1 out of every 387 homes affected by foreclosure.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

True colors are beautiful like a rainbow, originally uploaded by neloqua.

Jackson-based First Georgia Community Bank was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance on Friday, marking the failure of the 23rd bank in the nation this year and the fourth in the state.

The FDIC announced that the bank’s four branches will reopen on Monday as part of United Bank of Zebulon.

The failed bank recently ranked sixth on a list of Georgia banks with a high Texas ratio, which gauges a financial institution’s risk by comparing the level of problem loans to the amount of capital and reserves available to the bank.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

Meter FAIL, originally uploaded by ryan muir.

According to economist Mike Shedlock, and based upon data from Japan, the housing market won’t hit bottom for another seven years.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

Number 7, originally uploaded by HelenPalsson.

Fidelity National Title Insurance walked away from the planned acquisition of LandAmerica, which then declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Fidelity will still acquire Lawyers Title and United Capital Title.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

Dead end, originally uploaded by tattooedfolk.

7.7 trillion dollars.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

Hail the Beggar King, originally uploaded by xylonets.

Sales of, and prices for, existing homes fell more than expected in October according to the latest report by the National Association of Realtors.

Sales by homeowners slipped 3.1 percent to an annual pace of 4.98 million – much lower than the 5.05 million pace expected by economists.

Year-over-year, sales were down 1.6 percent.

Additionally, the national median price was down 11.3 percent from last year to $183,300.

Contributing to the drop in prices were a dramatic number of REO, short, and other so-called “distressed” sales, which accounted for about 45% of all sales in October.

Though, if such sales now account for nearly half of all home sales, it would be hard to declare them as distressed. Rather, they’re the norm.

In the south, home sales decreased 3.2 percent in October, and were 10.2 percent below last year. Additionally, the median price of a home in the south was $161,000, which is 5.8 percent lower than October 2007.

We’d love to be your real estate closing attorneys in Atlanta Georgia. Want to know more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service to you!

for sale, originally uploaded by wizardofthefiretopmountain.