Stabilizing the Atlanta Home Market
Are you looking for a deal on a new home? It seems that the prevailing question that Atlanta home buyers and investors are looking for have a common theme: Is the home I want to buy a good deal?
Motivated home sales, defined as those sales made by homeowners in default or close to defalut, or those properties offered through financial institutions or foreclosure firms, have pushed prices down in many parts of the country. Motivated sellers are what is driving the market. Banks who have REO property are considered motivated sellers. These are people that are willing to sell the home, not those who are simply listing the home, to see what happens or who still expect Atlanta’s 2004-2006 prices. A falling discounted market doesn’t mean a price recovery is around the corner, but it does suggest a stabilizing market. Simply put, could we be close to, or at, the bottom of the Atlanta home pricing floor?
On January 12, 2009, Forbes listed Atlanta as #10 on their 2009 list of Top Ten Smart Markets to Purchase a Home. Forbes identified the 10 markets with the largest percentage of motivated home sales. While motivated sellers may hurt Atlanta home prices in the short run, the flurry of activity is helping burn off inventory and is bringing the Atlanta home market closer to stability.
Markets where motivated sellers are, will dominate. That kind of market will drive prices to the point that Atlanta home buyers will know they are getting a fair deal and where Atlanta home sellers have the potential to make a profit. Perhaps not the 10-12% yearly increase that we saw before the real estate bubble burst, but a solid 3-4% increase. Throw in the build-up of home equity and the benefit of the tax credit, and one can understand how motivated home sellers can help put a floor under Atlanta home prices by enticing home buyers with rock bottom prices. After all, everyone has to live somewhere.
Read more in my REO-related blogs, posted in November and December. Or, for help in finding or selling your Atlanta home, please call us. Experience True Experience!