Atlanta Home Sales DOWN but Atlanta Home Prices UP?

Can someone please tell me what is going on with the Atlanta home market? Doesn’t anyone want or need to move these days? Demand is growing but supply is ridiculously, low. In fact, Atlanta’s housing supply is currently only 2.9 months. That means that if no more listings came on the market, it would take about 2.9 months to sell all of them. In a normal stable Atlanta market, the supply is roughly twice that at 6 months. Just five years ago the market peaked with 13.8 months of supply and it was a crazy buyer’s market! That’s not the case, today.

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There is good news and there is bad news to all of this. The good news is if you are a person with a home or a condo to sell, chances are it is going to go relatively fast once it hits the market and there may be multiple offers, unless of course you are asking peak 2006 prices for it. If you are a buyer, there are mixed blessings. Over the last several years, prices have dropped to near 2002 levels, and many economists and realtors would say that we have hit the bottom. Amazing! Low prices plus insanely low interest rates should equate to the perfect storm for buyers. However, and sadly to say, we are missing one important ingredient, the housing supply. Due to the staggering lack of supply, housing prices are starting to make a significant about-face. Sales prices for Atlanta single family homes averaged $219,718 in March 2013 up nearly a whopping 30% over March 2012 prices! Similarly, sales prices for Atlanta condos and townhomes averaged $174,027 in March 2013 up nearly 29% from March 2012. An enormous one year turn-a-round for any city in the nation.

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The bottom line is the Atlanta real estate market is making a rapid recovery. Although there looms a vast amount of shadow foreclosure inventory from the banks, I don’t expect them to flood the market at this point. The banks are smarter than that and will ride the appreciation wave, releasing foreclosures, modestly, so as to minimize loss. If you are a buyer, you need to act FAST. Be ready to pull the trigger the minute a property comes on the market that meets most of your needs. It is imperative that financing be lined up and that you are PRE-APPROVED and not just beginning conversations with a lender when the time to make that offer strikes. Additionally, be prepared to offer well above full price, potentially having to come to closing with additional cash if the property does not appraise. More and more sellers are putting clauses in contracts asking for the difference in contract price and appraisal to be made up by the purchaser with cash at closing. An appraisal not coming in at or above contract price is no longer an out for the contract in many circumstances. If you are a seller, by all means, please put your home on the market, NOW.

Having been licensed since 1994, Craig Levine brings to your real estate deal a world of experience, cutting-edge technology, negotiating savvy, and exemplary service. With Century 21 in Atlanta, Craig was the #2 agent in the #1 office in Georgia in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001! He repeatedly received Century 21’s highest honor, The Centurion Award, in each of these years. In 2002, Craig joined Re/Max Greater Atlanta, the Nation’s #1 RE/MAX office and has consistently been one of the top agents in the office. Additionally, Craig got licensed in Florida to bring his arsenal of skills and resources into the Emerald Coast’s 2nd Home and Investment market. He holds a Florida Broker’s Associate License which resides at Baywalk Real Estate in Beautiful Destin, Florida.

Craig is an avid hiker, camper, boater, golfer, traveler, biker, and reader. He has written for numerous print magazines including The Seasonal, The Gazette, Cobb Living, Cobbonline, The Cobb Times, Atlanta Nation, Cherokee Nation, North Fulton Nation, Gwinnett Nation, The Southeast Business Journal, Lake Lanier Herald, Revue and News, John’s Creek Herald, Forsyth Herald, North Atlanta Business Post, as well as various online real estate related web sites. Craig is also frequently quoted in Georgia Realtor Magazine, Florida Realtor Magazine, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

-Realtor Serving Thousands of Clients Since 1994
-Associate Broker in Georgia and Florida
-Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI)
-Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS)
-Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE)
-Accredited REO Agent (AREO)
-Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource Specialist (SFR)
-Real Estate Property Management Specialist (REPM)
-Top 1% of Realtors Nationally
-Non-Performing Asset Specialist
-Member REOMAC (wait list), FiveStar, Equator Gold Certified, RES.net AMP Professional Certified, REOConnection, REO Network

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta (Atlanta) – Associate Broker
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http://www.GeorgiaRealEstate.ws

http://www.RealEstateGeorgia.info

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http://www.GeorgiaShortSale.net

http://www.AtlantaForeclosurePrevention.com

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