If you're involved in the Atlanta residential real estate market in any capacity, buyer, seller, agent or other, you've noticed that something has changed over the last year. The market has shifted significantly. Homes are selling fast, and I mean crazy-fast. What's "crazy-fast?" Days. Sometimes just one day. Sometimes not even a day. Often with multiple offers. I've experienced faster than expected sales recently on both sides of the transaction, on my own listings and when representing buyers. And from speaking with other agents around time, I'm not alone. "Sure," you might say, "that's anecdotal evidence, but is it really true for the Atlanta market as a whole?" I looked at the numbers and here's what I found.
I checked the FMLS records over the last 3 years to see how many homes sold each year in various days-on-market brackets. For the purposes of this blog post, I'm just using single-family homes sold in the city of Atlanta. Below are the numbers:
Homes sold in 14 days or less in Atlanta:
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2010: 919
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2011: 922
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2012: 1453
Homes sold in 7 days or less in Atlanta:
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2010: 399
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2011: 406
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2012: 691
Homes sold in 3 days or less in Atlanta:
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2010: 127
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2011: 137
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2012: 269
Homes sold in 1 day or less in Atlanta:
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2010: 49
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2011: 65
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2012: 103
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With all the doom and gloom on the news, are there any bright spots out there? Yes, of course there are! One is the falling price of oil, gas and other commodities, which helps to soften any downturn in the economy. But what may surprise you is that the resale home market is another bright spot.
We've written in previous blog posts that the Intown Atlanta market has been doing quite well, in contrast to many other parts of the country. But now comes news that the country as a whole is rebounding in terms of existing home sales. In September, existing home sales jumped 5.5% as affordability has improved. Improving affordability in some markets has to do with home prices correcting to more reasonable levels after steep run-ups in bubble markets. But another factor that improves affordability in all markets is interest rates.
Recent actions by the federal government, including the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as the economic "rescue" plan, has lead to lower interest rates for home loans. Very often buyers can now get fixed-rate mortgages under 6 percent. Check with a qualified mortgage lender to see what kind of rate you can get.
The jump in sales last month was the largest since 2003, and outperformed economists expectations. Many economists have said that the economy will not recover until the housing market stabilizes, to this is welcome news. This news coupled with declining inventory may imply that the housing market has reached a bottom. This emphasizes what a great time it is to buy now.
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In a previous blog post, we mentioned how the Intown Atlanta real estate market was different than the "bubble" markets, which have lost so much in home values lately. By contrast, single family homes in Intown Atlanta are holding their own. In fact, many established Intown Atlanta neighborhoods can boast rising home values in recent months. But don't take our word for it, check out this recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle: House prices rising in Atlanta
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Hi there, and welcome to our first blog post! I want to start off on an issue that has been on the forefront of my mind for a while now. Seems like you can't turn on the news or read a paper these days without reading a headline implying that the sky is falling in regards to residential real estate. One must always remember the expression, "All real estate is local." There is a huge difference between the "bubble" markets of Florida, California, Las Vegas, etc., and Atlanta ... especially Intown Atlanta!
Image: Atlanta is in hunter green, near the bottom. Click for larger view.
First of all, Atlanta is not a "bubble" market. We did not have the "irrational exuberance" indicated by a huge run-up in prices over a short period of time. Since we didn't have a bubble, there's no bubble to burst! Sure, sales have slowed down, but we are not seeing the decline in values that the bubble markets are seeing. Now, this is not to say that we can't have a decline in prices at some point in the future if, for example, the economy as a whole slips into recession. But if we do, it's not likely to be as bad as the aforementioned bubble markets.
Intown Atlanta is even more different! The suburban Atlanta real estate market is struggling a bit. It's all about supply and demand. Let's say you have a home to sell in your suburban neighborhood. Next door, a developer starts a new subdivision of 250 homes. There's 250 more homes on the market,...
