Expert guides, market analysis, and tips for Georgia homebuyers.
In Georgia, any one-unit loan above $832,750 is a jumbo, and reserves are often what stops buyers who already have the down payment. Here is how lenders count your savings, how they discount a 401(k), and a worked $900,000 example.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Oct 5, 2026
With 30-year rates above 7%, a cash-out refi can cost a Georgia owner with a 3% mortgage hundreds of dollars a month. We compare a HELOC, a home equity loan and a cash-out refi on a $50,000 need, including Georgia's intangible recording tax.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Oct 4, 2026
Peach Select VA is the state's lower-rate VA loan with no down payment assistance. Repeat buyers can use it. Here are the credit, income, price and education rules by county, and how to apply.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Oct 3, 2026
Rates have risen six weeks in a row, and Georgia's state of emergency may have pushed your closing date eight days later. Here's how to size a rate lock to your attorney's closing date, what extensions and float-downs cost, and what to get in writing.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Oct 2, 2026
An escrow shortage letter usually means your county tax bill or insurance premium went up. Here is how to read it, choose between a lump sum and 12 payments, and spot errors worth disputing.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Oct 1, 2026
FHA has posted a draft rewrite of its property standards that would ease rules on paint, utilities, crawl spaces and wells. The draft is not in effect yet. Here is what it would change, and what Georgia buyers looking at older homes in places like Macon and Columbus should plan for now.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 30, 2026
Georgia's insurance commissioner does not pre-approve home insurance rates, but the office is not powerless either. Here is what state law allows, what the Nov. 3 candidates are promising, and how a premium increase shows up in your mortgage escrow.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 29, 2026
An assumable FHA loan lets a Georgia buyer keep the seller's old rate, but the buyer has to qualify with the seller's servicer, cover the equity gap in cash or with a second loan, and plan for a slow approval process. Here is how the process works and why so many of these deals close with a new loan instead.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 28, 2026
Atlanta led Redfin's August 2026 concessions ranking, so buyers have room to ask for a seller credit. How much you can get depends on your loan program. This guide covers the FHA, VA and conventional limits, Georgia's closing taxes, and what to check on your Closing Disclosure.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 27, 2026
Atlanta has swung toward buyers. August 2026 data shows Macon and Augusta following closely, Savannah and Columbus mixed, and Athens still the most competitive of Georgia's mid-size metros.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 26, 2026
Georgia's DCA posted a 6.125% Georgia Dream rate on Sept. 24, 2026, the same day Freddie Mac's 30-year average hit 7.03%. The two numbers are not a fair match. Here is how Georgia Dream and a 3%-down conventional loan compare on down payment, eligibility, payment and cash to close.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 25, 2026
The Loan Estimate is the same three-page federal form from every lender, but Georgia adds its own charges: an intangible recording tax, a transfer tax, a $10 state fee and an attorney-run closing. Here is how to read it page by page and which numbers are allowed to change.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 24, 2026
Builders are leaning hard on financing incentives this fall, and some metro Atlanta offers carry an adjustable rate near 4 percent. We walk the reset math, the Georgia cost of refinancing out, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 23, 2026
FHFA directed Fannie Mae on Sept. 15 to let servicers contact borrowers about canceling PMI. The rules for qualifying did not change, and flat Georgia prices mean many recent buyers are not there yet. This checklist helps you decide whether to request removal now or wait.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 22, 2026
Orders to Fort Benning bring a real choice: buy in Columbus, rent first, or live across the river in Alabama. This guide covers the state line, VA occupancy rules, Georgia's lease-exit law, the appraisal, closing taxes and your options if orders change.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 21, 2026
The 30-year fixed went from 6.71% to 6.95% in two weeks. Here is what that does to a payment on a $394,000 Georgia home, what it does to a metro Atlanta purchase at 5% down, and how much house an August pre-approval letter quietly lost.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 20, 2026
Builders are advertising rates near 4% while the market sits near 7%. Here is how a Georgia buyer can compare a builder rate buydown vs price reduction using a $400,000 new build, lender concession caps, closing taxes and property tax.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 19, 2026
Fulton County's August median sale price was $477,300, up 3.9% from a year earlier, while pending sales fell 24.3% from a year earlier. Price per square foot fell over the same period. That points to a change in which homes sold, not a rise in what homes are worth.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 18, 2026
On Georgia's average VA loan of $353,689, the funding fee runs about $7,604 at the first use rate and roughly $11,672 at the repeat use rate. Here is who is exempt, what your lender has to verify before closing, and how the refund works when a rating lands late.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 17, 2026
Not yet. FHA will accept VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T only on loans whose case number is assigned on or after January 1, 2027. Here is how that date works, what stays the same, and what Georgia Dream borrowers should check.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 16, 2026
Borrowing a bit more than $832,750 in Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek or Roswell? We ran September 2026 rates on a $1.1 million home. With a fixed-rate second, one jumbo loan cost less in both rate surveys.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 15, 2026
A financed Georgia purchase is a chain of deadlines that starts on the Binding Agreement Date. Here is each step from contract to recording, the buyer's job at every stage, and where Georgia closings usually slip.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 14, 2026
Mortgage rates just hit their highest level since June 2025 and inflation ran hot, but Georgia home prices barely moved. We run the wait-or-buy budget both ways, without a rate forecast, and show where Georgia Dream fits.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 13, 2026
Rocket and CrossCountry are writing one-unit loans to $845,000, about two and a half months before FHFA sets the official 2027 number. The legal limit is still $832,750 until January 1, 2027. Here is what that means for Georgia buyers near the line, in a week when jumbo rates were actually lower.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 12, 2026
At Freddie Mac's 6.76% average, a median-listed home runs about $3,150 a month in Savannah, $3,260 in Athens and $1,770 in Macon once taxes and insurance are counted.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 11, 2026
If you switch lenders on a Georgia refinance, the whole new note is taxed at about 0.3%. Worked examples show how much that one-time cost pushes back your break-even month, and when the lower rate still makes switching worth it.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 10, 2026
Fulton mailed 2026 tax bills in August using this year's values and last year's millage rates, under a court order. A corrected bill is expected mid-November. Here is the dated timeline and what it means if you are paying the estimate, closing this fall, or carrying an escrow account.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 9, 2026
For several weeks this summer, the jumbo quote came in under the conforming quote. The pricing reason is structural, not promotional, and the cheaper rate is bought with reserves, documentation and a bigger Georgia tax line at closing.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 8, 2026
At 640 you qualify for both programs, which is exactly why the choice is hard. The real difference is that FHA prices mortgage insurance the same for everyone but rarely lets you out of it, while conventional charges you for your score and has a legal exit date.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 7, 2026
Georgia's housing agency now runs four different first mortgages under the Georgia Dream umbrella, and on the September 3, 2026 rate sheet they price from 4.875% to 6.375%. The cheapest one is not the one most buyers can use — here's how the eligibility gates actually sort you.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 6, 2026
FHFA lifted the 50-lender cap on VantageScore 4.0 on September 4, opening it to every lender that sells to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For a Georgia buyer, the number that decides whether you get $10,000 in down payment help is set by a state agency, and it did not move.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 5, 2026
The 15-year fixed is sitting 67 basis points under the 30-year. For a Georgia owner carrying a 7.125% note from 2023, that gap is worth real money — but the usual break-even math falls apart on a 15-year, and Georgia's intangible recording tax changes who you should call first.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 4, 2026
Georgia's settlement statement carries two taxes most buyers have never heard of, and the one that lands on the buyer's side is legally the lender's bill. A line-by-line look at who normally pays, what the statute actually says, and which lines you can move.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 3, 2026
Georgia's Department of Community Affairs is publishing a 4.875% 30-year VA rate on its own rate sheet while national trackers put the market VA rate at 6.43% and conventional at 6.89%. The rate is real, and so is the price: no down payment assistance at all, a nine-year federal recapture window, a ban on owning any other residential real estate at closing, and a 75-day state reservation pipeline. Here is the honest math and the full list of conditions.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 2, 2026
Odds of a September rate hike nearly doubled after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks, and Georgia borrowers under contract now have to make a decision the market itself hasn't made. Here's what a lock, a float-down, and a seller concession actually cost on a $296,000 Georgia loan — and why a 25-basis-point Fed move does not mean 25 basis points on your note rate.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Sep 1, 2026
The Georgia PSC froze Georgia Power's base rates through at least 2028 — but fuel and storm costs ride in separate dockets, and the data-center buildout approved in December 2025 carries a cost estimate measured in decades. Here's why none of that touches your debt-to-income ratio, and how to price it yourself before you go under contract.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 31, 2026
The National Flood Insurance Program's authority to write and renew policies ends at 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2026. Existing coverage survives a lapse; new purchases are what stall. Here is what actually stops, the assignment workaround most Georgia buyers never hear about, and the five things to do before you sign in Chatham, Glynn or an Atlanta flood zone.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 30, 2026
Georgia home insurance premiums are up roughly 40% since 2020, and the number your lender put on the Loan Estimate is the one line on that form with no accuracy requirement attached to it. Here is how a stale insurance placeholder turns into a debt-to-income problem on day 12 of a 30-day contract — and what changed in March 2026 that cuts the other way.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 29, 2026
The 41.9% refinance share and the 22% year-over-year decline come from two different weeks - and the real story is narrower than either headline. Here is who a refinance still pencils out for in Georgia, and who should check their escrow statement instead.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 28, 2026
As of the week of August 24, 2026, the pricing stack runs 5.95% (15-year fixed) to 8.13% (home equity loan). That ordering is not an anomaly — it is lien position doing exactly what it is supposed to do. The decision that actually matters for Georgia homeowners is not which rate is lower, but whether you reprice your whole balance or only the new dollars.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 27, 2026
Assuming a Georgia seller's FHA or VA loan really can hand you a 3% rate — but the blended rate everyone quotes hides what the combined payment actually does. On an Atlanta-median $405,000 home with a $290,000 balance, the assumption's monthly advantage can collapse to as little as $62. Here is the arithmetic, the servicer deadlines that give you leverage, and the seller-side paperwork that decides who stays liable.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 26, 2026
Jurisdictions covering roughly 83% of Georgia's population opted out of the homestead assessment cap voters approved in 2024. SB 33 makes the cap mandatory — starting in tax year 2027. That makes your 2026 assessment the number the cap will compound from, and this year's appeal deadline the one that matters.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 25, 2026
Mark Zandi's widely-cited estimate assumes a specific, extreme version of privatization — release with no government guarantee at all. Run the underlying 60–90 basis points against Georgia's $360,000 statewide median and metro Atlanta's $442,500 median, and the monthly cost lands at $116–$215. Here's the arithmetic, the competing estimates that run a third as high, and why no IPO is currently scheduled.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 24, 2026
Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote as Fed chair on Friday, August 28. Contrary to a widely repeated assumption, prediction markets put a September rate cut at roughly 1% — the live question is hold versus hike. Here is what that skew means for Georgia borrowers with a closing date and an unlocked rate.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 23, 2026
In January, the White House directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion of mortgage bonds. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed briefly hit 5.98% in late February — the only sub-6% print of the year — and is now 6.65%, higher than the 6.16% it averaged the week the program was announced. In August, both the MBA and Fannie Mae revised their forecasts sharply upward, to 6.7%–6.8%. Here is what the round trip costs a Georgia buyer, and why the policy could only ever move the number for weeks.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 22, 2026
Metro Atlanta buyers picked up real leverage this summer, but not from an inventory flood — active listings are up less than 2% year over year. What changed is the competition: units under contract fell more than 30%. Here's what that's worth at the closing table, and why $10,000 off the price is the weakest form of $10,000.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 21, 2026
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act bars large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes starting January 7, 2027. It does not force them to sell the ones they already own — and in metro Atlanta, the exemptions may matter more than the cap.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 20, 2026
FHFA says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are evaluating portable and assumable conventional loans. There is no rule, no comment period, and no effective date — just one two-page bill sitting in committee. Here is the arithmetic on what porting a 3.1% note into a $475,000 Cherokee County purchase would actually save, and why the savings stop growing the moment you buy more house.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 19, 2026
New rate-lock data shows builder-affiliated lenders writing 30-year loans at 5.23% while everyone else locks at 6.6%. The gap is real and it is measured on executed locks — but it is a transfer, not a discount, and in Georgia part of the bill arrives on your tax assessment.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 18, 2026
An escrow analysis Cotality ran for USA TODAY found as many as 65% of homeowners are carrying an escrow shortage averaging $2,157 — about $180 a month if spread over a year. Here is what is driving it in Georgia, what Regulation X actually requires your servicer to offer you, and the three moves worth making before you sign anything.
By Mortgage in Georgia Editorial · Aug 17, 2026
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