Gwinnett group offers sweet deal to boost housing market

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gwinnett County business and government leaders have put together their own version of a housing stimulus package, offering up to $5,000 in down payment assistance and super-low mortgage rates to help lift a sagging housing market.

The program, engineered through the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, is touted as a first-of-its-kind local stimulus for home-buyers. It's half of an overall economic drive the Chamber is calling Let's Do Business Gwinnett. The other half is an expansive campaign to convince local governments and businesses to do more business locally.

The housing stimulus offers some buyers up to $5,000 for a down payment on a new home and mortgage rates as low as 3.49 percent.

The package arrives just three weeks after a federal program geared to jump-start the housing market expired. The  federal tax credit of $8,000 for first-time home-buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers expired May1.

"We have too much of a supply of residential lots in Gwinnett County, and until the supply is gone, all home prices will remain depressed," said Gwinnett Chamber Chairman and Brand Banking Co. CEO Bartow Morgan.

Currently, 17,250 undeveloped residential lots sit vacant in Gwinnett.

Hart Raley, Brand Banking COO, said that at the current rate of market activity, it would take 25 years to sell that backlog.

Chamber officials said Let's Do Business Gwinnett also is intended to lasso some of the estimated $20 million a day being lost to companies outside Gwinnett, specifically, and metro Atlanta. They want governments and businesses to commit to shifting 5 percent of their out-of-county spending back to Gwinnett. The result, they said, would mean pumping an extra $1 million a day into the local economy.

Officials from Gwinnett County government, its cities and Gwinnett schools were on hand at a press conference Friday at Jacobs Farm development in Lawrenceville to lend their support to the initiative.

Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said all commissioners are on board with any proposal that will stimulate the local economy. If the 220 homes in Jacobs Farm could be sold for an average $200,000 each, he said, it would generate $2 million in taxes and lower the tax burden on those now paying.

The new home-buyers' program $5,000 down payment is being provided through the Gwinnett County Housing Authority from a pool of federal, state and local tax funds issued through Gwinnett County Community Development. It is good for newly constructed homes priced up to $205,000 and buyer income is restricted. For example, a four-person household's income may not exceed $86,050 for the down payment help.

Home-buyer instruction is provided by the non-profit Impact Group.

Brand Banking Co., Independence Bank of Georgia, Legacy State Bank, Piedmont Bancorp, Gwinnett Community Bank and Quantum Bank have signed on to offer the special financing package. It is targeted toward, but not limited to, those with low credit scores ranging from 500 to 620, who are able to afford a home and prove their ability to pay.

The banks are offering 6.49 percent financing on select homes for borrowers who need time to improve credit.

A 3.49 percent loan is available on select houses in Gwinnett for those with credit scores above 680 who can make a 10 percent down payment. Neither loan program has income restrictions or requires mortgage insurance.

The incentives drew the attention of Craig Whitt, who recently moved to Gwinnett with his family from Tennessee.

"Any time you have incentives to purchase a home, it's always a blessing," he said. "It does make you look."