Barry's Real Estate Blog

The most common questions I am asked are: Is the market getting any better and is activity picking up?

The problem in providing an answer is that is really depends on the day you ask.  Over the last 12 months, there really hasn’t been any consistent trend in the market.  Some weeks see lots of activity and interest while others have no activity.  It has been this lack of consistency that has made this such a difficult market.

Positive News

Interest rates continue to be low (in the high 4%/low 5% range) and the $8000 federal tax credit for first time buyers and $1800 Georgia state tax credit for all buyers are good until the end of November.  In fact, houses are probably the most affordable they’ve ever been.  And, if you’re a home buyer, it’s still a buyer’s market.

 

On The Other Hand

National unemployment in about 10% and Georgia’s is slightly over 10%.  Job losses and uncertainty have undermined the confidence of home buyers.  In addition, while money is cheap, it is also still difficult to get a mortgage if your credit is not very good.

To get a clear picture of the Roswell/Alpharetta market, I have broken down the sales trends for 2006 through 2008. For 2009, I kept my original analysis period of January thru April  and have added May thru September.  This way you can see how the year is trending. The chart below shows the trends for Roswell and Alpharetta, Georgia (Fulton County only) combined.

EXPLANATION OF CHART

This chart shows the number of homes sold in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 (thru September). 2007 and 2008 are also broken down into Jan-July an Aug-Dec time frames.  The last column represent the the number of currently active listings and their average asking price.  The actual data for each bar and line is shown at the bottom of the chart.

ANALYSIS

Units Sold – 2006 – 2008

2006 saw 2475 homes sold with that number increasing to 3028 in 2007.  We know that that market slowdown began in summer of 2007.  This is clear by looking at the breakdown of 2007 sales: 2034 units from Jan-July and 994 units from Aug-Dec.  Total units sold in 2008 declined to 2077 with the second half of the year seeing only 734 homes sold.

Units Sold – 2009

Thru April 30, 2009, 388 homes sold.  If we extrapolate this for the entire year, 2009 will see approximately 1200 homes sold.  From May thru September, 1266 homes sold with an average sales price of $410,000. While this period includes one more month than Jan thru April, the number of homes sold increased by over 225%!

There are currently 2004 homes on the market. Current inventory now stands at 10.9 months versus 20.2 months projected at the end of April. Clearly we are seeing a positive trend in sales. However, inventory is still above the 7-9 months which would represent a balanced market.  In addition, the current average list price of $618,000 for active listings is way too high and will need to come down in order to sustain this sales trend.

Average Sales Price

In 2006, the average sold price was $411,000.  This increased to $421,000 in 2007, an increase of  2.5%.  The average sold price peaked in the first half of 2007 at $427,000. By 2008, the average sold price was down to $417,000.  For the first four months of 2009, the average sold price had fallen to $376,000. From May thru September, the average sales price increase by $8,000 or approximately 2.1%.

Average List Price

The average list price in 2006 was $423,000.  The difference between the average list and average sold in 2006 was 2.9%.  By 2007, the gap between list and sold price increased to 5.1%.  In 2008, the gap had further increased to 5.5%.  For the first four months of 2009, the gap reached 7.5%. From May thru September, the price gap narrowed slightly to 6.8%.

Average Days on Market

This data is not shown on the chart but in the table below:

2006: 55

Jan – Jul 2007: 66
Aug-Dec 2007: 76
2007: 70

Jan-Jul 2008: 80
Aug-Dec 2008: 88
2008: 83

Jan – April 2009: 94
May – Sept 2009: 94

As we can see, the average days on market has remained at 94 days.

Please feel free to contact me with questions about your specific market or community.  You can request a FREE home market analysis here.

RELATED POSTS:

Roswell-Alpharetta, Georgia Housing Market Review

Click here to read original post.

 

The most common questions I am asked are: Is the market getting any better and is activity picking up?

The problem in providing an answer is that is really depends on the day you ask.  Over the last 12 months, there really has been any consistent trend in the market.  Some weeks see lots of activity and interest while others have no activity.  It has been this lack of consistency that has made this such a difficult market. However, things are starting to change and trends are developing.

Positive News

Interest rates continue to be low (in the high 4%/low 5% range) and the $8000 federal tax credit for first time buyers and $1800 Georgia state tax credit for all buyers are good until the end of November.  In fact, houses are probably the most affordable they’ve ever been.  And, if you’re a home buyer, it’s still a buyer’s market.

 

On The Other Hand

National unemployment in about 10% and Georgia’s is slightly over 10%.  Job losses and uncertainty have undermined the confidence of home buyers.  In addition, while money is cheap, it is also still difficult to get a mortgage if your credit is not very good.

Market Analysis

To get a clear picture of the Cherokee market, I have broken down the sales trends for 2006 through 2008.  For 2009, I kept my original analysis period of January thru April  and have added May thru September.  This way you can see how the year is trending. The chart below for Cherokee County includes the cities of Woodstock,  Canton, Ball Ground, Holly Springs and Waleska.

EXPLANATION OF CHART

This chart shows the number of homes sold in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 (thru September).  2007 and 2008 are also broken down into Jan-July an Aug-Dec time frames.  The last column represent the the number of currently active listings and their average asking price.  The actual data for each bar and line is shown at the bottom of the chart.

ANALYSIS

Units Sold – 2006 – 2008

2006 saw 2967 homes sold with that number increasing to 3550 in 2007.  We know that that market slowdown began in summer of 2007.  This is clear by looking at the breakdown of 2007 sales: 2312 units from Jan-July and 1238 units from Aug-Dec.  Total units sold in 2008 declined to 2389 with the second half of the year seeing only 869 homes sold.

Units Sold – 2009

Thru April 30, 2009, 595 homes sold.  If we extrapolate this for the entire year, 2009 will see approximately 1800 homes sold.  From May thru September, 1150 homes sold with an average sales price of $213,000. While this period includes one more month than Jan thru April, the number of homes sold increased by over 93%!

There are currently 2318 homes on the market, down from 2726 at the end of April.  Current inventory now stands at 12 months versus 18.3 at the end of April. Clearly we are seeing a positive trend in sales with some discounting on price sontinuing. However, inventory is still above the 7-9 months which would represent a balanced market.  In addition, the current average list price of $327,000 for active listings is way too high and will need to come down in order to sustain this sales trend.

Average Sales Price

In 2006, the average sold price was $250,000.  This increased slightly to $253,000 in 2007, an increase of just  1.2%.  The average sold price peaked in the first half of 2007 at $256,000. By 2008, the average sold price was down to $232,000.  For the first four months of 2009, the average sold price was $219,000.  From May thru September, the average sales price declined by $6,000 or approximately 2.75%.

Average List Price

The average list price in 2006 was $255,000.  The difference between the average list and average sold in 2006 was 2.0%.  By 2007, the gap between list and sold price increased to 3.2%.  In 2008, the gap had further increased to 5.2%.  For the first four months of 2009, the gap reached 6.8%.  From May thru September, the price gap narrowed to 5.1%.

Average Days on Market

This data is not shown on the chart but in the table below:

2006: 77

Jan – Jul 2007: 83
Aug-Dec 2007: 88
2007: 85

Jan-Jul 2008: 102
Aug-Dec 2008: 92
2008: 98

Jan – April 2009: 94
May – Sept 2009: 95

As we can see, the average days on market has increased from to 77 to a current 95 days which is less than 2008’s average of 98 days.

Please feel free to contact me with questions about your specific market or community.  You can request a FREE home market analysis here.

RELATED POSTS:

Cherokee County, Georgia Housing Market Review

Click here to read original post.

The most common questions I am asked are: Is the market getting any better and is activity picking up?

The problem in providing an answer is that is really depends on the day you ask.  Over the last 12 months, there really hasn’t been any consistent trend in the market.  Some weeks see lots of activity and interest while others have no activity.  It has been this lack of consistency that has made this such a difficult market.  However, things are starting to change and a trend is starting to develop.

Positive News

Interest rates continue to be low (in the high 4%/low 5% range) and the $8000 federal tax credit for first time buyers and $1800 Georgia state tax credit for all buyers are good until the end of November.  In fact, houses are probably the most affordable they’ve ever been.  And, if you’re a home buyer, it’s still a buyer’s market.

 

On The Other Hand

National unemployment in about 10% and Georgia’s is slightly over 10%.  Job losses and uncertainty have undermined the confidence of home buyers.  In addition, while money is cheap, it is also still difficult to get a mortgage if your credit is not very good.

Market Analysis

To get a clear picture of the Cobb market, I have broken down the sales trends for 2006 through 2008.  For 2009, I kept my original analysis period of January thru April  and have added May thru September.  This way you can see how the year is trending.

The charts below show the data for East and West Cobb separately.  East Cobb consists of mostly unincorporated Marietta and parts of the city of Marietta.  West Cobb consists of the other half of the city of Marietta plus the cities of Kennesaw, Acworth, Powder Springs, Mableton, Austell, Smyrna and Vinings.

EXPLANATION OF CHARTS

This chart shows the number of homes sold in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 (thru September).  2007 and 2008 are also broken down into Jan-July an Aug-Dec time frames.  The last column represent the the number of currently active listings and their average asking price.  The actual data for each bar and line is shown at the bottom of the chart.

ANALYSIS

Units Sold – 2006-2008

2006 saw 2177 homes sold with that number increasing to 2545 in 2007.  We know that that market slowdown began in summer of 2007.  This is clear by looking at the breakdown of 2007 sales: 1703 units from Jan-July and 842 units from Aug-Dec.  Total units sold in 2008 declined to 1807 with the second half of the year seeing only 644 homes sold.

Units Sold – 2009

Thru April 30, 2009, 382 homes sold with an average sales price $303,000.  If we extrapolate this for the entire year, 2009 would see approximately 1200 homes sold.  From May thru September, 855 homes sold with an average sales price of $337,000.  While this period includes one more month than January thru April, the number of homes sold increased by almost 125%. In addition, the average sales price increased by 4.3%.

There are currently 1416 homes on the market with an average list price of $442,000.  Current inventory now stands at 10.3 months versus 17 months in May.  Clearly we are seeing a positive trend in sales and prices.  However, inventory is still above the 7-9 months which would represent a balanced market.  In addition, the current average list price of $442,00 is way too high and still shows that sellers are not dealing with the realities of the market.

Average Sales Price

In 2006, the average sold price was $326,000.  This jumped to $351,000 in 2007, an increase of 7.6%.  The average sold price peaked in the second half of 2007 at $357,000. By 2008, the average sold price was back down to $334,000.  For the first four months of 2009, the average sold price fell to $303,000. From May thru September, the average sales price increased to $318,000 which is still below 2008’s average but a positive trend.

Average List Price

The average list price in 2006 was $334,000.  The difference between the average list and average sold in 2006 was 2.5%.  By 2007, the gap between list and sold price increased to 4.3%.  In 2008, the gap had further increased to 5%.  For the first four months of 2009, the gap reached 6.2%.  From May to September, the gap dropped slightly to just below 6%.

Average Days on Market

This data is not shown on the chart but in the table below:

2006: 57

Jan – Jul 2007: 62
Aug-Dec 2007: 68
2007: 64

Jan-Jul 2008: 77
Aug-Dec 2008: 82
2008: 79

Jan – April 2009: 93
May – Sept 2009: 85

As we can see, the average days on market has dropped from to 93 to 85 but still well above 2008’s 79.

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ANALYSIS

Units Sold – 2006 – 2008

2006 saw 5091 homes sold with that number increasing to 5890 in 2007.  We know that that market slowdown began in summer of 2007.  This is clear by looking at the breakdown of 2007 sales: 3816 units from Jan-July and 2074 units from Aug-Dec.  Total units sold in 2008 declined to 4401 with the second half of the year seeing only 1702 homes sold.

Units Sold – 2009

Thru April 30, 2009, 1092 homes sold with an average sales price of $185,000.  If we extrapolate this for the entire year, 2009 would see approximately 3300 homes sold. From May thru September, 2235 homes sold with an average sales price of $209,000. While this period includes one more month than January thru April, the number of homes sold increased by almost 105%. In addition, the average sales price increased by almost 13%.

There are currently 3525 homes on the market with an average list price of $300,000.  Current inventory now stands at 9.5 months versus 15.3 months in May.  Clearly we are seeing a positive trend in sales and prices.  However, while inventory is approaching the range for a balanced market, the current average sales price is way too high (almost $100,000 more than the average sales price) and still shows that sellers are not dealing with the realities of the market.

Average Sales Price

In 2006, the average sold price was $250,000.  This actually decreased slightly to $249,000 in 2007.  The average sold price stayed at $250,000 thru the first half of 2007.  By 2008, the average sold price was down to $223,000, a drop of almost 11%.  For the first four months of 2009, the average sold price was $185,000 representing a decline of 21% from the same period in 2008 and a 26% drop from the peak price in 2006 and early 2007. From May thru September, the average sales price increased to $209,000, representing a 13% increase but still below 2008’s average of $223,000.

Average List Price

The average list price in 2006 was $255,000.  The difference between the average list and average sold in 2006 was 2%.  By 2007, the gap between list and sold price increased to 2.7%.  In 2008, the gap had further increased to 4.8%.  For the first four months of 2009, the gap reached 6%. From May thru September, the gap was slightly less at 5.5%.

Average Days on Market

This data is not shown on the chart but in the table below:

2006: 73

Jan – Jul 2007: 80
Aug-Dec 2007: 82
2007: 81

Jan-Jul 2008: 89
Aug-Dec 2008: 89
2008: 89

Jan – April 2009: 98
May – Sept 2009: 97

As we can see, the average days on market has only decreased by one day and is still higher than 2008’s average.

Please feel free to contact me with questions about your specific market or community.  You can request a FREE home market analysis here.

RELATED POSTS:

Cobb County, Georgia Housing Market Review

Click here to read original post.

The “Today Show” in New York this morning called Marietta one of the top 4 places in America for house hunting to get the most bang for your buck. They also mentioned the city’s Gone With the Wind Museum and called it the pride of the community.

The top three were: 1) Sarasota, FL; 2) San Francisco, CA; and 3) Lansing, MI.  These rankings were based on where you can get the best “bang for your buck” in home value.

Click here to see the video clip.

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The rate of home-price declines improved in July in the top 20 U.S. cities, and Atlanta posted a rise. The average price of a home in Atlanta rose 2.3 percent from June to July, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. However, the average price of a home in Atlanta was down 11.8 percent year over year in July.

Click here for more information.

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I recently attended by first real estate auction with a client.  They were interested in a house in a nice area and were hoping to get it at a good price.  We visited the house the weekend before.  The utilities were off so we couldn’t check any of the systems but we did have a chance to poke and prod.  My client brought a family member who did repair and handy work so they could get an idea of the cost of repairs.

Our plan was to go to the auction and try to get the house at a price so that once the repairs were done, it was still below market value.  The starting bid was $50,000 and I estimated the house to be worth $180,000-$190,000 in good condition after repairs.

 

When the time came, the bidding went fast and furious.  In matter of 45 seconds the house was at $100,000 and finally sold for $150,000 which was over my client’s price point.  We walked away without the house but more experienced.

Here are some of the things I learned:

1)    BE PREPARED

Make sure you read all of the documentation on the auction website.  For example, my client had to bring a certified check for $2500 plus a personal check to cover the balance due.

Also, some houses were sold with reserves meaning that even if you were the high bidder but did not meet the reserve, the seller had 15 days to decide if they wanted to sell it.  And, they were going to hold your money until the decided.

Always read the documents – twice!

2) BUDGET

Make sure that you have enough cash to handle the earnest money/down payment plus the repairs.  Some homes can be financed and others are “cash only’ meaning the buyer does not have a financing contingency to protect them.  Also, build in a “what if” line to your budget.  Since most homes are sold “as is” and can not be thoroughly inspected before the auction (typically the utilities are off so you can’t check the systems), make sure you have allocated money for the unknown items that may arise.

3) KNOW YOUR LIMIT

Auctions take on a carnival atmosphere.  There’s electricity in the room.  The auction is loud and fast paced.  It’s not hard to get caught up in the frenzy and go past your budgeted figure.  Bring someone with you (an agent is a good place to start) who is not emotionally attached to the outcome.  If the house you want has exceeded your price point, let it go.  Unless you’re an investor or have the finacial resources to absorb losses, once you exceed your number, walk away.

4) GET THERE EARLY

Pick up the brochure for the day and sit in the room for at least 30 minutes before your property comes up.  If your home is one the first ones, try to attend an another auction before that one.

By getting there early, you can get sense of the pace of things and how the auction is going to occur.  You can also see of there are any investors who are bidding up properties or buying in a certain area.  If your house is in one of these areas, be prepared to make go head to head with them.

5)    TYPE OF AUCTION

Know the type of auction you’re attending and what it means.

Absolute: The highest bidder wins the auction, regardless of price. The same as an auction without reserve.

With reserve: An unpublished price the seller has set for the property. It can be different than the minimum bid. The seller can accept or decline a winning bid within a specified amount of time after the auction.

Subject to lender approval: A lender, who either owns a foreclosure or who has financed a developer, must agree to sell the home for the amount of the winning bid.

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