Atlanta Real Estate Blog By:Robert Rogers 678.858.0958

I just wanted to share some of the stats and my observations from the 4th Quarter of 2010 and how they are expected to relate to home sales in 2011.

The GOOD NEWS! Over 40,000 homes were sold in Metro Atlanta in 2010, hardly a great depression. Distressed properties, meaning short sales and foreclosures only accounted for 39.9% of sales in 2010. Despite what the news says, 6 out of 10 homes that sell are not in distress! I think this is GREAT news! In addition, median home prices seemed to hit bottom in January of 2009 which may be a signal that for Single Family residences the bottom has passed. Unfortunately the same is not true for condos as their prices continue to decline. What does this mean for you? If you are wanting to buy a home, now is an incredible time to do so. Rates are still extremely competitive and prices seem to be fairly stable. If you wanting to buy a condo, the same is true, while prices may still fall more, it gives you an advantage in negotiations to get the price down a little further as well as go ahead and buy at around a 5% interest rate. With interest rates on the rise, a 1% jump in rates could end up costing you the same or more than a 10% drop in prices.

If you are selling your home here’s what is really important. Only 9% of the homes on the market were initially priced correctly. That is 9 out of every 100! So what happens if you overprice? Well 64% of the homes on the market, expired unsold. 27% of the homes chased the market with a minimum of one price reduction before going under contract and selling on average for a 23.7% discount after being on the market for an average of 6 months! Ouch! What was the reward for pricing correctly for the current market and being in this 9%? These sellers sold their homes in an average of 28 days on the market at very close to their asking price (96.7% on average).

Out of the homes that sold, how many do you think sold for above their asking price? 10% and as you can see from the image below, these were not just distressed homes that sold for more than their asking price. This effectively shows that it is impossible for you to underprice your home. In fact if you price below the market, you can create a seller’s market and receive multiple offers driving your price back up to the highest price the market will bear.

Here are some additional things to think about. Vacant properties appear to have sold for 3.5% less than occupied homes. The total number of foreclosures has been declining while short sales have been on the rise which indicates that banks increased willingness to work with borrowers who are upside down and approve more short sales. While short sales are still a lengthy process, they are a very viable solution.  This is especially good for condo owners who need to sell. Since all indicators show that the condo market is still on the decline, now may be the best time for you to sell and break-even or at least utilize a short-sale and minimize your deficiency. Additionally, inventory overall seems to be down so now is a great time for anyone to get their home on the market and get it sold prior to the spring market. Once the spring inventory hits the market, sellers will have to be even more competitive to compete which could result in a lower price.

Curious what your real estate team has been up to? The Robert Rogers Real Estate Team closed out 2010 strong with our listings averaging only 33 days on the market at 99% of their list price! 2011 is off to a great start with with 6 of our sellers getting their listings under contract this year. I’m really excited to announce that we have added a 3rd party negotiator to our team who is facilitating our short sales at a 95% success rate. Additionally, we are conducting First Time Homebuyer Seminars every other month based on Gary Keller’s book “Your First Home” and we filled the room in January. The next one will be on March 15th from 6-8pm, if you or someone you know would like to attend please let me know. http://on.fb.me/YourFirstHome If you ever want any other information on the Atlanta Real Estate Market please give me a call. I’m here to be of service to you and so grateful for your trust.

If you know anyone who has been struggling to sell their home please share this video with them. I hope to have it updated soon with new properties and our new numbers. http://bit.ly/struggling2sell

For those new to Atlanta or just visiting here are 10 great things to do while you are here.

1. Sweetwater Brewery - The is one of my personal favorites, on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons (be sure to check their calendar) they offer brewery tours for $8. It’s a great deal and a good time for those of you beer lovers. You get your own sweetwater glass and get 6 tickets to try all their flavors or just the ones you like. They’ll have music playing on the patio and if you desire you can even take a tour of the brewery. It’s definitely a fun way to spend a warm Friday evening!

2. Atlanta is home to the Braves, if you are a baseball fan be sure to check out a game at Turner Field.

3. The Atlanta Botanical Gardens located right by Ansley Park is now doing canopy tours. Something that I’ve been wanting to do!

4. The High Museum of Art seems to always have something going on and is located right off Peachtree Street in Midtown.

5. The Georgia Aquarium is definitely one of my personal favorites. You’ll watch thousands of animals in front of the largest viewing windows in North America. This is a great family experience.

6. Located in the heart of Midtown is Piedmont Park, a 189 acre urban park that is home to many festivals and events throughout the year. The park is open from 6am to 11pm daily.

7. The Atlanta Zoo located in Grant Park is another must family attraction of 39 acres of animals from around the world. I’ve been wanting to go since the massive renovations!

8. The World of Coke is another great activity for anyone. As you are tasting over 60 different beverages from around the world make sure you try “Beverly”, you’ll never forget her. You’ll also want to check out the new 4-D Theater!

9. Just a short drive outside Atlanta is Stone Mountain Park, home to the world’s largest piece of exposed granite. This 3200 acre park has activities that will be fun for everyone including the longest running laser show. I definitely recommend hiking to the top and if you don’t feel like hiking then take the skyride up to the top and enjoy the view.

10. Be sure to check out Fernbank Museum and Theater as well. The IMAX is very cool!

Recently I became aware of a situation where a seller that was not in distress stated that they could not afford to stage their home. Yet when an offer was received MANY months later after they had already moved from the home and made several mortgage payments on a vacant home; they negotiated $25,000 off their asking price. I was in shock. $25,000 of equity gone over a $1500 initial investment.

Please check out the following images which were shared with the seller. 94.8% of staged homes are selling in 35 days of less while non-staged homes are selling in an average of 175 days. This means that at minimum paying staging (or the cost of one mortgage payment upfront) could keep you from paying 5 more later. Which would you rather do? Additionally, staged homes are selling on average for 6.9% more than non-staged homes. On a $200,000 house this is $13,800. The last time I checked that was a lot of money!

Let’s explore why staging may help your home sell for more money. When the furnishings look good in a home they create a lifestyle. Buyers pay top dollar for “lifestyle.” 60% of the population is visual which means they need to be able to “see” what a space is going to look like furnished, they can’t just invision what it might look like. In today’s foreclosure market, most of these homes are vacant and some even in dis-repair. The more you set yourself apart from these homes, by an excellent presentation, the more buyers will not compare them to your home. When buyers aren’t comparing your home to foreclosure pricing then they pay more. 

The choice is yours. Personally, I’ve never liked gambling. 

Staging Matters

The Benefits of Staging Your Home

This past weekend I participated in an extremely special event: the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. For three days I was inspired by 2400 fellow walkers spirit, passion and commitment as we walked 60 miles in the fight against breast cancer. We started on Friday morning at Lake Lanier Islands and ended Sunday at Turner Field. This year the Atlanta 3-Day raised over 6.1 million which will help save lives.

Thank you to my family, friends, clients, colleagues and donors for giving me this incredible opportunity. Each of you has touched my life in a way which has made me uniquely “me.” Your friendship means the world to me and without your support and encouragement I may have never taken this bold step and had this life changing experience. Thank you!

Are you struggling to sell your home? Then you need to watch this video and give me a call. Know someone who is struggling to get their home sold?  Please forward this video to them. I’m averaging 33 days on the market at 97% of list price. Who can I help move on? I’m always here to help in any way that I can.

Watch this great video as Jay Papasan, VP of Keller Williams Realty and co-author of a number real estate best-sellers, explains why some houses sit on the market while other houses sell. In this simple illustration he explains that simply being ”on” the market is not the same as being “in” the market. When pricing your home it really comes down to two things: price and condition.

As you can see for Metro Atlanta, 18% of the homes on the market were actually “in” the market and sold in under 6 months, many in around 30 days. Then 30% chased the market and resulted in a sale somewhere after 6 months for considerably less than their asking price. The remaining 52% of the homes on the market never resulted in a sale.

Atlanta Single Family Residential Market 2nd Quarter 2010

For Condos and Townhomes 22% were in the market, 19% chased the market and 59% never sold.

For more information on what’s selling and how you can get your home sold contact me today. I’m happy to help!

Thank you to my awesome clients who made it possible for me to travel to Boston, Massachusetts July 1-5, 2010 for the 125th Annivesary of the Boston Pops and an amazing July 4th Celebration! I hope you enjoy looking at the photos and videos as much as I enjoyed the trip! I look forward to continuing to serve your real estate needs!

Fireboat on Charles River prior to USS Constitution Sailing

The opinions on this site represent those of Robert Rogers and in no way should be construed as legal, financial, or other advice. The intention of this site is not to cause anyone or any organization harm.  Information and content is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should not be taken as fact or absolute. Any advice, tips, techniques, and recommendations which are contained on this site you agree to use at your own risk and hold the owner of this site harmless from any injuries or damages which might arise from its display or use. Due to the ever changing nature of a blog, information, content, sources and links may not be valid or accurate after a few weeks much less a few years. I am not responsible, nor will be held liable, for anything anyone says on this blog in the blog comments. Any sources, files, images, or other content which is published on this site from another source will attempt to give credit to the proper source. If you find anything offensive on this site then I ask you to please refrain from visiting my site again.

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