Welcome!

I am an Atlanta native and made the decision in 2007 to leave my job as an architect/urban planner to get my real estate license. This was a difficult decision but has been great since my very first day in my new career and I am really enjoying it! It is so rewarding helping people find that perfect home, and it allows me to continue to satiate my love of good architecture and great neighborhoods!

I attended Georgia Tech (GO JACKETS!!!!) which is where I met my husband. For almost a decade we lived in one of Atlanta's fabulous in-town neighborhoods in a great 1920's Craftsman bungalow with our two dogs and two cats. Following the birth of our first child, we bought a foreclosure in the west Buckhead area and fully renovated it using an FHA 203k loan, which was a fun and sometimes daunting process. And just prior to the birth of our second child, we purchased and renovated a home in downtown Historic Roswell, completing our personal tour of some of Atlanta's best neighborhoods to live in!

I decided to create this blog in order to share useful information and resources about the real estate market and home buying process, as well as hopefully bring some humor and levity to what is often a complex and intimidating process. Enjoy!!!

Monday, December 28, 2015

Fed Authorizes First Rate Hike in 9 Years

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in nine years, ending a historic era of nearly 0% interest rates that began seven years ago today. As expected, the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting was an increase in the target range of the federal-funds rate by 25 basis points, to 0.25% to 0.50%. So what does this mean?
  • The Fed’s recent .25% rate increase directly affects the Prime Rate, which is now up to 3.5%. Virtually all Home Equity Lines of Credit are tied to Prime, meaning HELOC payments will be higher in January.
  • On a positive note, the Fed’s rate increase is pushing savings rates up. However, expect credit card rates to push up, too.
This change comes in the wake of months of rising house prices, an unemployment rate that has now fallen to pre-recession levels, and the strongest housing market we have seen in years. Even with the rate hike, interest rates are still historically low.
  • According to Zillow Real Estate research, the breakeven point when buying a home becomes financially better than renting a home after only 1.9 years.
  • Also, according to Zillow, the average income needed to support a rent payment is at the highest level ever, whereas the income needed to purchase a home is near an all-time low.

The FOMC forecast that the appropriate rate at the end of 2016 would be 1.375%, implying at least four rate hikes next year.
It anticipates that the economy would evolve in a way that warrants gradual rate hikes. Now that the Fed has made the first move, the pace of future rate hikes would become the focus of markets going forward.
Read more!