Is This A Good Time To Sell My Atlanta Area Home?

Home sellers call Duffy Realty of Atlanta non-stop asking if this is a good time to sell their metro Atlanta home. They usually start with I know this is not a good market… and we have to tell them that surprisingly it is a good market. Things are selling and they are selling high against their list price at around 96%. Atlanta has not depreciated either, as many people think. There are neighborhoods that have depreciated but they have odd circumstances like the builder bailed before they built the golf course or the neighborhood was ripe with lender fraud. But those circumstances are few and far between. The only bad thing about this market is the media and the fact that people are still thinking and believing listing agents with ulterior motives, that you have to have your house at foreclosure prices to get it sold.

In Atlanta for instance, there were 31,000 houses sold between late 2008 and early 2009 and another 9,000 are pending sale. Those are not bad numbers compared to what the media wants you to believe which is nothing is selling and everyone is in foreclosure. Actually, there are very few people that are that in foreclosure. Even when the media reports foreclosures in Atlanta, they report 1 in 300 houses are in foreclosure. You do the math, isn’t that number meaning that 97% of people are paying their mortgage?

Okay, so what is the downside to this market? It does take longer for a buyer to step up to the plate and buy compared to past years. Some of this is buyer hesitancy and some of it is that lenders are actually making it difficult for people to get a loan. I said difficult, not impossible, because there are plenty of loans being written. Difficult means that lenders are requiring more documentation and money than they did in previous years. And, buyers have all the choices spread before them to choose from on the Internet. And, all buyers start looking at foreclosures, but most realize after looking at only foreclosures for months that they don’t have the stomach for the unknown condition and rehab in a foreclosure sale.

So, then their search starts over, their realistic mind returns and they end up buying a resale that has been lovingly cared for. So, that brings me to the next issue, which is that the inventory in the market right now stinks. Because it takes longer to get the home sold, the homeowner has given up in taking care of the home. The showings are not top notch and there is a nonchalant attitude about getting the home sold.

My advice would be for you to put your home on the market, be serious about selling your investment and keep your focus on getting the home sold however long it takes. If you do this, I think you will be surprised at the result. You don’t have to price your house at the foreclosure price down the street, you are not desperate and you actually want to make a profit on your investment. You do have to improve your condition to look and feel better than the foreclosure and you have to be willing to wait to sell your non-liquid asset. A little patience and elbow grease is really all that is needed.

And, I think that you will see that banks are starting to realize that they don’t have to be at rock bottom to get houses sold either. Many of them are raising the prices on their inventory since the “bail-out” is getting tougher. This is good news for all of us.

Click Here to Get your Home listed Now with Duffy Realty of Atlanta