State Realtor head addresses agents

Van Johnson, president of the Georgia Association of Realtors, attended a meeting last week of the Northwest Georgia Council of Realtors.

In opening his remarks, Mr. Johnson, a lifelong resident of DeKalb County, heaped praise on the region, calling the northwest counties home to one of the best-kept secrets in the state.

Predicting that 2008 will go down as a year of opportunity for the smart buyer, Mr. Johnson said this is a buyers’ market with a variety of housing, low interest rates and motivated sellers.

Investors group meets Monday

The Chattanooga Real Estate Investors Association will meet Monday at 7 p.m.

The meeting will be at the Asia Buffet, 6901 Lee Highway. Those arriving by 6:15 p.m. will receive a $2 discount on dinner. Call Ken Stevens at 619-1517 or e-mail bigken@chattareia.com for more information. The group’s Web site is at chattareia.com.

Mortgage loans down 9 percent

The Mortgage Bankers Association has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 20. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 461.3, a decrease of 9.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 508.4 one week earlier.

On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 9.3 percent compared with the previous week and was down 25.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The Refinance Index decreased 12.1 percent to 1,212.2 from 1,378.6 the previous week.

Bankers group boosts FHA loans

Members of the Independent Community Bankers of America are calling attention to the range of mortgage products community banks offer as one practical option for borrowers seeking to finance their house purchase or refinance an existing mortgage. One option is the Federal Housing Administration.

“ICBA is seeing more and more community banks offering FHA mortgages as part of their mortgage product portfolio,” said Cynthia L. Blankenship, ICBA chairwoman.

ICBA Mortgage, the group’s mortgage subsidiary, reported a 25 percent jump in all mortgages coming through its pipeline during the first five months of this year compared with the same period in 2007.

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