Dissuaded by slow sales, declining home prices, a struggling economy and banks tightening up on lending, many sellers hunkered down for the long haul over the past five years deciding to make improvements to their existing homes and stay in them a little longer rather than risk losing money by putting them on the market.
Flash forward to first quarter 2013.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, year-end numbers for 2012 brought the welcomed and encouraging news that last year was the best year in real estate since 2007. With the election behind us, mortgage rates that have remained incredibly low and a slow but steady increase in home prices along with a sharp drop in the number of foreclosures and short sales inflating the inventory count, buyers have come back in numbers much higher than current inventory levels can support. In fact, many Atlanta REALTORS®, are reporting a shorter time on the market for their seller clients and receiving multiple offers on properties is becoming commonplace.
Just how big is the discrepancy between buyers who are ready, willing and able to buy and the number of properties available in the Atlanta market? Consider the fact there are 30,000 homes currently listed as opposed to the average rate for this time of year being around 90,000 homes on the market. This parallels what is happening on a nationwide level with inventory of homes for sale in December at its lowest level since 2001. With February being a historically high-volume sales month in the Atlanta real estate market and moving right into spring which is always a very active season for homes sales, the number of interested buyers is expected to continue to rise as the realization that home prices are moving up hits home with buyers.
What does this mean for sellers? If you have a home that you’ve been sitting on or a property you need to sell, now is a terrific time to get it on the market while buyers are reluctantly playing a game of musical chairs, if you will. Demand is high, average time on the market is getting shorter, buyers are anxious and home prices are expected to continue to move up as demand outpaces supply.
If you have questions about selling your home, we’ll be happy to answer them for you. Give us a call at 770.405.0100 x 222 or email Paige Slyman at slymanfamily@comcast.net. We are also glad to work with buyers.