Georgia Mortgage Guide

$340K median, with Atlanta driving most of the demand. Inside the Perimeter (ITP) — the I-285 loop — median prices run $450K-$550K in places like Decatur, Virginia-Highland, and Kirkwood. Outside the Perimeter (OTP) is where the value is: Kennesaw at $380K, Marietta at $400K, and Snellville under $350K. The real sleeper is Macon, 80 miles south, where $200K buys a legitimate house.

It's a balanced market right now. Atlanta absorbed massive population growth during 2020-2023 (California and Northeast transplants), and prices spiked accordingly. That wave has slowed. Inventory is climbing, days on market are stretching, and sellers are accepting contingencies again. But desirable ITP neighborhoods still move fast — anything walkable to a MARTA station gets attention.

Georgia's property tax rate is 0.92%, but the homestead exemption knocks a meaningful chunk off your assessed value. On a $340K home, expect about $3,100/year after exemptions, varying by county.

The Georgia Dream Homeownership Program through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs is your main shot here, and it's actually pretty solid if you qualify. They offer a couple of different flavors, but the most useful one gives you down payment assistance – either $7,500 or $10,000 depending on which county you're buying in. That money comes as a second mortgage at 0% interest that gets forgiven after you live in the home for five years.

Here's the catch everyone misses: income limits apply based on county and household size, and they're stricter than you'd think. In metro Atlanta counties like Fulton or Gwinnett, those limits get hit faster than you'd expect for what feels like a middle-class salary. You also have to take a homebuyer education class before closing, which takes around 6-8 hours.

The PEN + Protector Program is worth mentioning if you're a first responder, teacher, or healthcare worker. Same basic structure as Georgia Dream but with slightly better interest rates – we're talking maybe 0.25-0.50% lower, which adds up over thirty years.

The five-year commitment isn't nothing. If you sell or refinance before that, you're paying back the full assistance amount. And honestly, life happens – job transfers, family changes, whatever. Just know you're locked in for a while.

Start at dca.ga.gov/safe-affordable-housing/homeownership and check if your target area and income qualify before you get too excited about house hunting. The program cycles through funding rounds, so timing matters more than people realize.

Here's what catches people off guard: Georgia runs non-judicial foreclosures, and they're fast. Like 37-40 days from the first notice to your home being sold on the courthouse steps fast. Most states give you months to figure things out—Georgia doesn't.

There's no court involved unless you file a lawsuit to stop it. The lender just has to advertise the sale in the county legal organ (usually the local newspaper) for four weeks, then they can sell your house. First Tuesday of the month, typically. I've seen people in Gwinnett and Cobb counties lose their homes before they even lined up an attorney.

If you fall behind on payments, you need to act immediately. Don't wait for multiple notices or assume you'll get some formal hearing. You won't. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance oversees lenders, but they're not stepping in to slow down your foreclosure.

The one small break: Georgia does allow deficiency judgments, meaning if your house sells for less than you owe, the lender can come after you for the difference. But they have to file that separately within 30 days of the sale, and you can challenge the sale price if it was unreasonably low.

Bottom line—if you miss payments here, treat it like an emergency from day one. The timeline doesn't forgive hesitation.

Georgia's intangible recording tax catches every out-of-state buyer off guard. When you record your mortgage (deed to secure debt), you owe the state $1.50 per $500 of loan amount. On a $300K mortgage, that's $900 — separate from transfer taxes, title fees, or anything else. It shows up on your closing disclosure and there's no negotiating it away.

The other one: Georgia termite letters. Your lender will require a Wood Destroying Organism (WDO) report, and in Georgia's humid climate, termite activity is extremely common. The report itself costs $75-$150, but if active termites are found, treatment runs $1,200-$2,500. Sellers typically pay for treatment as a condition of sale, but you have to negotiate it — it's not automatic. Don't skip this. Georgia's red clay soil and warm winters make it one of the heaviest termite states in the country.