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Should I Buy An Atlanta Home Right Now?
By Ryan Ward | October 21, 2007
There is a lot of hesitation in today’s real estate market on the part of buyers and it’s quite understandable. The news reports are beating into us that the real estate market is weak. What does that mean? Well, not really anything - or more accurately, it depends on whether you are a buyer, seller or both.
Let me be very clear about this; If the market for Atlanta homes is weak or strong, it refers to only a buyer or a seller, not both.
The statistics are now in for Atlanta homes during the summer months for 2007. Let’s take a look and see how we compared to the summer months of 2006. This should help us to get a better grip on the overall market for Atlanta homes. We will be looking at each month individually. As always, I use data gathered from the First Multiple listing service for analysis. Abbreviations are as follows:
LP/SP - List price to sales price. While not exactly accurate because seller contributions are not calculated, it still determines a good baseline number if all statistics use the same information.
DOM - Days on Market. This is how long it took for homes listed until they go under contract.
2007 June Sales Numbers - Down 18%
Atlanta Real Estate, June 2007
| Total Sales | 6,049 |
| LP/SP | 97 |
| DOM | 89 |
Atlanta Real Estate, June 2006
| Total Sales | 7,381 |
| LP/SP | 97.2 |
| DOM | 86 |
June is historically the month of the year with the most closed homes in Atlanta. Sales in 2007 were down 1332 closed homes, or, 18%.
2007 July Sales Numbers - Down 12%
Atlanta Real Estate, July 2007
| Total Sales | 5,594 |
| LP/SP | 96.13 |
| DOM | 85 |
Atlanta Real Estate, July 2006
| Total Sales | 6,356 |
| LP/SP | 96.38 |
| DOM | 99 |
Again we see a large drop in the overall number of homes sold in 2007; down 762 sales or down 12%.
2007Â August Sales Numbers - Down 20%
Atlanta Real Estate, August 2007
| Total Sales | 5,124 |
| LP/SP | 95.68 |
| DOM | 85 |
Atlanta Real Estate, August 2006
| Total Sales | 6,397 |
| LP/SP | 97.19 |
| DOM | 84 |
August sale were down 1273 homes or 20%.
2007Â September Sales Numbers - Down 48%
Atlanta Real Estate, September 2007
| Total Sales | 2,814 |
| LP/SP | 96.1 |
| DOM | 92 |
Atlanta Real Estate, September 2006
| Total Sales | 5,422 |
| LP/SP | 97.12 |
| DOM | 88 |
So here we see some major concern with the real estate market. Sales for the month of September are down 2,608 or 48%.
Why the Big Drop In Sales?
There are two major reasons for the dropoff in home sales. The largest reason is what has happened in the mortgage industry over the past several months. With the collapse of the sub-prime lending market, the number of potential buyers who could qualify for a loan has dropped. This is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, and in my opinion, will strengthen the market in the long run. The second reason has to do with the poor quality of proper analysis and its reporting in the news. It borders on unethical and is extremely misleading to label a real estate market a s either “good” or “bad”.
What Does it all Mean?
If you are a SellerÂ
Here we have a double edge sword because on one had the outlook appears bleak if you are trying to sell your home and you probably don’t want to look at these numbers and instead, bury your head in the sand.
All is not lost for you as a seller. Clearly homes are still selling. The ones that are not selling are the ones that are priced too high for the market and for the condition of the home. What you need is to get an honest and objective price opinion from a REALTOR and you need better marketing than you currently have with most traditional REALTORS. This is where we can help you. We’ll come back to this because it is too important to include here.
If you are a buyer
Well, I’m not sure I could say that there has been a better time to get in to the market. Rates are low. Supply is high. Now is the time to leverage your position. The real estate market is cyclical just like all markets. Can anyone say exactly where the top and bottom of the market actually is? No. Not until after the fact, looking back on statistics like the ones above.
What we can say is that this is clearly the best time to leverage your position as a buyer in several years.
Will that position improve a little bit? Maybe. Maybe not. Certainly you would not be buying in a market where you have to buy and the sellers dictate terms like in the past 5 or so years.
Smart buyers buy when they know it’s a good time to buy. It is quite clear that right now is better than in the past several years. Why are you waiting? If you are looking for Atlanta homes for sale, you can find them on our website.
The point here is that you can not know the exact date and time that the market will be at its best to buy. What you can do is look at the facts and take into account cycles that are inherent to the real estate market. Right now is the worst time to try to sell in years. This inherently makes it a good time to buy. It’s time to stop listening to the guys on the news and start considering the opinions of people that actually work in the industry as a full time career. By the time you here on the news that it’s a good time to buy, the market will have already changed. Sales numbers will already be in and the market will be shifting back in favor of sellers. This is because the news uses past sales statistics to report. If you wait to hear them, you will have missed the best chance to buy.
Category: Atlanta Real Estate |
Hello and welcome to my Atlanta real estate blog. My name is Ryan Ward and I run The Ryan Ward Group at Keller Williams Realty Consultants. Stay informed with information on neighborhoods, market statistics, homes and editorials on local, regional and national news that affects all of us here in Atlanta and elsewhere. I enjoy life and writing so don't be surprised if you read something thsat isn't directly related to real estate. We all need a break sometimes. If you have any questions about what you read or would like additional information, please fill in the form below or give me a call at 404.630.3187.
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:29 am
YES & YES! Now is the time to buy without question as I tell my Texas home buyers. Rates are great, inventory is high so if you want a great deal now is the time. However, if your the home seller you’ll be the one losing out.
Remember you buy stocks when they are low, not when they’ve hit their peak. Real Estate is no different.
May 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
It is a great time to buy homes. I think the Dallas real estate market is vibrant and will continue to grow though it might seem that the market is dull at the moment. Besides, what better investment is there than real estate with which you can live, claim tax deductions and build memories.