The housing market in Atwater is beginning to pick up a bit, the median home price in Merced County is back to where it was in 2003. Reported by the Merced Sun Star for March of 2008 at $201,500 homes are selling for 34.7 percent less than March 2007 and down from $309,000 median home price in March of 2005. Residential subdivision activity has slowed significantly due to the housing slump. Sales volumes in Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Tuolumne Counties have increased but remain far behind previous years. In Merced County, 868 homes were foreclosed and 1,759 received default notices during January, February, and March of this year - a record number of homes repossessed by lenders.
From time to time the City provides a Residential Subdivision Activity Summary as a courtesy. This information provides an overview of the size of the subdivision in terms of units, contact information for the developer (at the time of the subdivision application), and a status report of the project.
The City of Atwater is also directly involved in assisting our residents in purchasing a home or renovating existing homes. The City offers a first time home buyers assistance program and housing rehabilitation program to qualifying residents. For additional information on our housing assistance programs please contact our intake specialist toll free at (866) 449-2600.
To assist in locating homes available in the local market place we encourage you to find a real estate agent. To assist in this process and also to conduct a search of available properties please try the Merced County Association of Realtors.
Also, be aware of a new home loan program from CalHFA called the Community Stabilization Home Loan Program. This program offers below market rate, conventional first mortgage loans to first-time homebuyers purchasing select real estate owned properties in Merced County. Contact our intake specialist at (866) 449-2600 for eligibility information. Check out CalHFA's website at http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/homebuyer/programs/cshlp.htm to learn what properties are for sale.
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