Metro Atlanta Median Home Prices

Metro Atlanta Median Home Prices

 

Median home prices for North Fulton County, Central Fulton County, South Fulton County, Fayette County, Coweta County, Cobb County, Cherokee County, Gwinnett County, Dekalb County, Douglas County, Paulding County, Henry County, Rockdale County, Butts County, and Clayton County, Georgia.

If you would like more real estate information specific to your city or even your subdivision, please give us a call or email us! We would be happy to help in any way possible!

Foreclosure Notices are DOWN in Metro Atlanta!

Foreclosure Notices are DOWN in Metro Atlanta!

 

 

 

 

The AJC is reporting that Metro Atlanta foreclosure notices are at their lowest level since mid-2007! [Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!] This is GREAT news! Their stats read that there are 4,531 foreclosures advertised for March auction across the 13 Metro Atlanta counties. This is down significantly from the height of the foreclosure crisis in 2010 where the number reached as high as 13,834!

 

And let me tell you... boy, can we tell a difference in the inventory level! While this is wonderful news, it can make finding the perfect home take a little longer than what it used to. There's not as much to choose from and multiple offer situations are almost a given. I spoke with an agent the other day about one of our new listings that had multiple offers (14 within 4 days) and she said it best when discussing this interesting market - "it's like every house I show goes under contract before I can back out of the driveway."

 

I'm not sure that there is a secret in this market because it's just so tough, but if you find a property that you're interested in, you MUST act fast! View it as quickly as possible (2 days later is almost always 2 days too late!), write an offer as quickly as possible, and come in STRONG. It's not a pressure/sales tactic, it's the truth. This market isn't for the sloth paced buyer nor the buyer who wants to negotiate the price down $25,000 on a well priced foreclosure. You will be outbid every time. Not only are you competing against other home buyers but investors with deep pockets as well! We talked to one Realtor the other day who represents a NY based investment group with a goal of purchasing 3500 homes in Georgia. They're purchasing site unseen and offering more than the asking price in many cases.

 

This market is unique. It takes a great amount of patience, perseverance, and determination if you're a buyer.

 

If you're a seller, expect to see a slight (and by slight, we mean SLIGHT) increase in home values. The southside of Metro Atlanta took a much bigger hit than the north side, so when you hear the local news talk about appreciating home values, remember that we have a lot more recovering to do than most of Metro Atlanta. Our values will slowly come up, but don't expect any big jumps.

 

To read the full AJC article, visit:

http://www.ajc.com/news/business/foreclosure-notices-at-lowest-level-in-years/nWL7Q/

 

Real Estate in Numbers: Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, & Henry Counties

 

Real Estate in Numbers:
Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette & Henry Counties

 

We're noticing a change in the local real estate pattern ... for the past few years it seemed that we were on a steady decline in home values; however, 2012 has been a much different market and in some ways, even more challenging than the previous years because of low inventory. If you're in the market for a new home, you may have noticed that every home seems to have multiple offers and goes to a "highest and best" situation in which buyers bid over the asking price for the property. These competitive situations are pushing the average sales prices up little by little. I guess it all goes back to basic economics - supply and demand. In our current market place, there doesn't seem to be enough inventory for the amount of buyers that are out there. Not such good news for buyers, great news for sellers! If we can hold this new pattern, we may just see an improving real estate market. It's hard to predict what the future will hold and there's still talk of banks releasing their "shadow inventory." While none of us hold the crystal ball to the real estate future, we can study trends and patterns to and make our best prediction as to where the market is heading... here's the scoop:

Real Estate in Numbers: Sales Prices Sept '11 vs '12

Average Sales Price - September 2011 vs 2012
(Single Family Residences)

 

Are things beginning to look up? In reviewing the average sales prices for the southern crescent counties, it appears that the average sales prices may be inching up some. Of course, this is just an overview for the month of September in 2011 versus 2012 so we'll have to continue to watch to see what happens but here's the scoop:

 

 

 

We can tell you from experience that inventory is slim and so therefore, there's competition for the properties that are available. This means that in highest and best situations, buyers are often bidding higher than the asking price and in return, properties are selling slightly higher. If this continues to happen, then it would seem that Realtors and appraisers will begin using these higher comps and this will help market values increase. If you're thinking of buying a home, NOW is the time! Jump in there before prices go up any further!

 

Real Estate in Numbers: 2nd Quarter - Butts County, Clayton County, Fayette County, Henry County


Pulling statistics from the MLS quarterly is one of my favorite things to do! Call me a real estate geek, but I get excited to see where the market is heading! If you have questions about your local market or a specific subdivision/neighborhood/community, please contact us and we'll be happy to provide a detailed market analysis and other market data!

AJC Reports "Home Sales Up as Prices Plummet"



I must admit, I'm not really a newspaper reader. In fact, I rarely purchase the paper and if you do catch me reading it, I'm probably looking at the sales ads! I was standing in line at the grocery store on Sunday when I noticed that the front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had a real estate related article as the cover story! The title, as you can see from my high quality iPhone photo above, was "Home Sales Up as Prices Plummet!" So naturally, I threw it in my cart and brought it home to read (along with the latest Target sales ad).

There are a gazillion different reports, studies, and opinions as to what the state of the real estate market is. If you get your news from a national source, you may hear that the market has bottomed out and prices are on the rise; however, being that the Metro Atlanta area was one of the hardest hit in the nation, that doesn't quite apply to us just yet. In fact, Melissa and I include graphs in our listing presentations that show just what this article is saying... the inventory level is down, the number of foreclosures is down, pending sales are up, and sold transactions are up which seems like the make up of a wonderful real estate market; however, the catch is that the average sales price is still down. So...the GOOD news: things are moving and selling! The bad news: they're still selling at lower prices.

Here are some interesting facts from the article:

• The number of overall home sales picked up by 11% across the metro Atlanta counties even though the median price dropped by nearly 15%. In most counties, the market was driven by resales, with the number of new-home sales either flat or declining. 
• The ZIP codes with the most home sales were in Lawrenceville (30044 and 30043) and Cumming (30040 and 30041). The Lawrenceville ZIP 30046 also saw the greatest increase in home sales, at 125%.
• The biggest declines in number of homes sold could be found in the Cherokee community of Waleska (30183) and the Southwest Atlanta area of 30310.
• The cheapest homes can be found in the West Atlanta area of 30314, where the median home sale was just over $15,000, slightly down from where it was last year.
  The Biggest Gain: 30294, Ellenwood: This part of Henry County had the biggest gains in 2011, up 22%; however, the median price was $56,500: that's still a 68.9% drop since the height of the market in 2007.
• The Biggest Loss: 30337, College Park: This city in south Fulton had the biggest price drop: down 45.7% since 2010. The median price was $57,000, a 69.2% fall from 2007

To view additional information from this article or to see statistics provided by the AJC, click on the following link: http://projects.ajchomefinder.com/atlanta-home-sales-report/

As you can see, Georgia is #4 in the nation for short sales!

If you're a buyer, there's a lot you need to know and understand before placing an offer on a short sale. If you're a seller, there's also a big process for completing a succesful short sale transaction. If you're in the market to buy or sell real estate, you'll encounter the term short sale in some capacity. We're happy to talk with you about it. Don't hesitate to call, email, or text for more info.



Graphic courtesy of KCM Blog - Steve Harney

Where Did All of the Houses Go!?!?

What happened to all of the houses for sale?! Just a few months ago we had more properties than we could possibly sell. Now, we're scrambling to find good inventory for our buyers who are anxious to find a home and tired of looking at the leftovers - you know, the stale inventory... the properties that are still available for a reason (overpriced, horrible condition, etc).

When a good property hits the market it seems as if it instantly goes to a multiple offer situation/"highest and best." In the past two months, I've had one buyer who has participated in three multiple offer situations, offered much more than the asking price ($15k, $30k, etc) and still wasn't the best offer. The competition is crazy out there right now and can be very discouraging for buyers.

Realtor.com just released statistics that show that the Atlanta market is #8 in the country in terms of metro markets that have experienced the greatest drop in "for sale" inventory and boy does it show! Here's the complete list:

1. Oakland, CA
2. Bakersfield, CA
3. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
4. Fresno, CA
5. Miami, FL
6. Fort Lauderdale, FL
7. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
8. Atlanta, GA (-39.62% decline)
9. Orlando, FL
10. Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA

So what does this mean? Hopefully it's a positive sign for an improving market. If you're thinking of selling your property, now might just be the time. Buyer's have less to choose from so if you get your house in tip-top shape and price it aggressively, chances are, you're going to be successful in selling it! If you're a buyer, it means that you better be aggressive with your home search. If a house hits the market and you think you might be interested, don't wait a week to go check it out. By the time you go view it, it will likely be under contract! If you fall in love with a house that just hit the market, there's probably 4 other buyers who love it just as much. If you'd be heartbroken if you missed it, then it's probably not the time to lowball!

If you're looking to buy or sell in this crazy market, please call or email us! We would love help you!

Real Estate in Numbers: Butts, Clayton, Fayette, & Henry Counties

Here's the scoop on real estate for the first quarter of 2012 in the South Metro Atlanta Area (Butts, Clayton, Fayette, and Henry Counties). Reviewing the numbers is always interesting.

1st Quarter vs. 2nd Quarter Comparisons: Clayton County, Henry County, Fayette County

2010 1st Quarter vs. 2nd Quarter Real Estate Statistics

for Clayton County, Henry County & Fayette County

These statistics are pulled from the Georgia MLS and are subject to changes, errors and omissions.