Maybe youre buying your first home in Georgia, or perhaps youre relocating to Georgia from another state. Either way, its important that you educate yourself on Georgia home loans before shopping for a home and mortgage. This article explains what youll need to know before buying a home in Georgia:

The median price of a home in Georgia is $111,200, and homes in Georgia appreciate at less than half of the rate of the average national home appreciation. The rate of job growth in Georgia is well below the national average. In fact, income levels in many parts of Georgia are too low to purchase a median-priced home with a conventional loan.

Average interest rates on mortgages in Georgia are just .01% higher than the national average interest rate. Home prices in Georgia can vary greatly between zip codes. For example, in the summer of 2005, the median price of a home in Snellville, Georgia, was $148,000; however, the median price of a home in Buckhead, Georgia, was $450,000.

Georgia has the strictest mortgage lending laws of all 50 states. The Georgia Fair Lending Act prohibits the financing of credit insurance and debt cancellation coverage and limits both late and payoff fees. Georgia places limitations on all home loans as opposed to the high-cost loan provisions of other states with comparable anti-predatory lending programs.

Georgias Second Mortgage Loan Program offers down payment loans at 0% interest to police officers, firefighters, educators, and healthcare workers. Georgia also has a Fair Housing Law that prohibits mortgage discrimination against anyone because of their race, color, gender, religion, familial status, or national origin