What is happening to the Greater Atlanta Real Estate Market?

Atlanta Real Estate like the rest of the country has taken a turn, are we going into a buyer's market, or is the market headed for a crash? In this video, I will give you the facts backing it up with actual numbers about what is happening right now in November 2022 in the Greater Atlanta Real Estate Market.

Highlights of The Video

Welcome to November, everyone. I hope you're enjoying the beautiful changes of leaves in Georgia and this wonderful weather we're having. So there's a lot of chatter going on regarding a pending crash. Everyone's saying that there's going to be a crash, that the market's going to change and it's going to be a buyer's market. So I wanted to kind of bring some clarity to this and after looking up the data, give you some information and some facts to go along with this.

In Greater Atlanta right now we have approximately 2.3 months’ worth of inventory. What does this mean for you? This indicates that if we were to stop building, no more new construction, stop listing homes and there were absolutely no more homes added to the market for sale, we would (100%) hundred percent run out of home inventory within (10 weeks) 2.3 months.

This sounds kind of crazy, doesn't it? Because we're not going to stop listing and we're not going to stop selling and construction is booming right now. Therefore definitely that's not going to happen anytime soon. Thus that's one point that supports our market because in order to be a buyer's market, there has to be approximately five to six months’ worth of inventory. And right now, as I mentioned, we have 2.3 months worth of inventory in Georgia and the Greater Atlanta area.

As of November, the prices are continuing to trend up from 2021 to the 2022 year to date, and this is where I'm going to compare everything between 2021 and 2022. So from 2021 to 2022, the prices/values of homes have gone up about 14.4% on average per home. For example, a house last year averaged a price of approximately $406,343 and this year is averaging at $463,912 which is roughly about 14.4% indicating to us that home values/prices are still going up.

Yes, everyone is worried about the rates. Let’s talk RATES - the rates have gone up and this means that buyers cannot afford as much as they used to be able to afford. Yes, the market has softened a little bit, but remember we are still trending upward.  

Also, as a result of rates going up, we have more listings on the market. The number of listings in Georgia and the Greater Atlanta area has gone up by 4.3%, thus there are more houses on the market for sale and yes, they are taking longer to sell.

I remember about six months ago when we would list a property and within 24 hours you'd be under contract and within 10 to 15 days you were closing on that property. Well, right now it's taking approximately about 21 days for a home to sell. What does that mean exactly? This means that your house will stay on the market from the time that you listed it till the time it goes under contract for about 21 days.  And from 21 days on the market add about 30 more days, depending on how long your closing takes. Last year when it was the high season and the crazy real estate frenzy was going on in 2021 we were averaging about two to three days, and then we moved to about 10 days and now in 2022, we're at about 21 days.

Yes, the market is definitely changing, it's getting softer and that's something to be aware of but it’s not a bad thing, it just means that your realtor will need to do a little bit more work now. Realtors are going to have to market houses more aggressively and put more time into their listings.  Something we at Think GA Homes at Atlanta Communities have never stopped doing. 

As an owner/seller you will definitely need to price your property correctly and do a little bit of maintenance too. Remember when the homeowners were selling at crazy rates, I mean it was 24 hours and your house was under contract, no one wanted to fix anything, and everything was being sold as is.  Well, the market has changed people! And I personally think that's a good thing because now we can negotiate a little bit more for both sides and buyers have a fighting chance.

In my experience and having been in the business for the last 20 years I feel that our home values will continue to go up here in Georgia.

Now, what are the rates going to do? I don't have a crystal ball, but from what I see in the news and the data and everything that I've been reading, I believe that we're going to be knocking at 9%  in 2023, between eight (8) and 9%. However, the experts are stating that we might see a change, and maybe by the end of 2023, there could be a drop to about five (5) to 6% for the interest rates.

This is great news, and what I'm recommending all my buyers do right now is to purchase and then just refinance later down the line. However, definitely do not lose out on your dream home because the prices/values are going to continue to go up. For example, in July of this year, I think the price increase was 15% from last year.  That means a house that sold at 350,000 in 2021 would be worth in July of 2022 around $402,500…

That is a lot of equity you would lose out by waiting for the right time to buy.  For that reason and I quote “MARRY THE HOUSE, NOT THE RATE” you can always refinance later. That said, we have some greatly preferred lenders that are really thinking out of the box to help our buyers during these times.

In addition, as a result of my experience in the past two decades these rates aren't that crazy right now:

• Rates in 1990 were hovering around 9.83%
• Rates in 2003 were about 6%
• 2021 – Record low rates below 3%

In 1990, when I bought my first house, I got something like 9% and that was with a 700 score. And then when I got into the business in 2003 the rates were about 6%.

Quite a change from 2021, when we saw a crazy lowering of rates, record lows under 3%, and now as we know rates are going back up again, but they will level off.

In addition, a few more numbers that you should be keeping in mind Year-to-Date percentage changes from 2021 to 2022 as of November in the Georgia real estate market:

• The average sales price right now is up by 14.4%.
• Closed sales are down by 10.5%
• Pending sales are down by 13%. And our
• Inventory is at 2.3 months right now.
• Rates in Georgia for 30-year fixed loan is at 7.26
• A 15-year loan is at 6.49%.

Homes closed YTD has gone down that's because rates are high therefore buyers are taking a little longer to purchase and they don't have the same buying power as they did before. Consequently, this affects our pending sales which are down also.  Our monthly supply of homes, as I stated before, is at 2.3 months right now confirming that we are definitely not going into a buyer's market. We are still in a seller's market, and I think we're going to see some great changes by the end of 2023. As of the beginning of November the rates in Georgia for a 30-year loan, fixed loan, are around 7.26 and for a 15-year loan roughly at 6.49%.

If you're looking to buy or sell give us a call. We'll walk you through the process. We have many programs that can help you out. We also have a RENT-TO-OWN Program that is great for those that haven't been able to purchase their own home as of yet and we'd love to give you all the information on this program and how it works, we are here to help you through that.

Now if you're looking to sell, we’re offering a FREE HOME EVALUATION on your house to find out what the value is right now. Please keep in mind and remember we can give you a virtual valuation, but there's nothing like walking the house and actually seeing the home to be able to give you a more accurate valuation. You can reach out to us anytime and get a free evaluation completely free or a free buyer's consultation.

Thank you, everyone, I hope you have a wonderful November and enjoy our beautiful Georgia weather.  

https://youtube.com/@LyssetteNavarra-ThinkGAHomes 

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