Browse Sections
Recent Articles
I got my Certified Distressed Property Expert designation last week. There are 1.2 million real estate agents in the US and only 25,000 of us have earned this distinction. What I’ve been trained to do is help distressed homeowners find a way out of what seems like an impossible situation. And pretty much everybody these days knows someone in an impossible situation: lost a job, can’t find a new one, can’t make the mortgage payments, house is worth less than they owe, bank is threatening to foreclose. And for some many, that’s exactly what is happening. They’re losing their homes.
Most people never know that there is an option. It’s called a ‘short sale.’ It’s where you convince the bank to take less than what you owe. And I’ve been trained to manage these kinds of transactions.
My motivation in making this investment of time and money was watching so many agents do it wrong – not out of a lack of caring or bad intention, just ignorance. Truth be told, none of us even knew what a short sale was 2 or 3 years ago. Now short sales are part of everyday life in America.
But there’s a big difference between knowing what a short sale is and knowing how to navigate the tricky, shark-invested waters of short-sale land. Frankly, many agents in the Atlanta area are just winging it. Not good. This is an area of real estate that requires specific training and expertise.
I’ve got that training and expertise now. If you’re in trouble, email me or call me. In a confidential conversation, I’ll help you figure out your best option. And it’s almost never foreclosure. Let me help.
Life After the Tax Credit
1 Comment
Leading up to the deadline for the tax credit, things got pretty wild. At 9:00pm on April 30th, three hours before the tax credit expired, I was still negotiating a deal. After the clock struck midnight, there was a bit of residual activity for a week or so – for example, people whose homes went under contract now needed to find a home. But mostly, things just got really, really quiet. Typically, we have 2-3 showings a day on my 8-10 listings. By mid-May, it was more like 2-3 showings in two weeks. Then, late last week, our phone started ringing again, and the office is getting that lively buzz back. It almost feels like buyers and sellers have recovered from a collective hangover and are ready to go out partying again.
How’s the Market?
1 Comment
The 2010 1Q stats are out and the news is mixed. After a 16.3% increase in sales during the 4th Q 2009 (largely attributable to the first tax incentive last fall), sales in the Atlanta area decreased 2.3% in the first quarter.
But if things have just felt better than that, you’re right – for particular areas, that is. In the Buckhead area, sales were up a stunning 38% from the same quarter last year. In Sandy Springs, sales actually doubled. (If you want the specifics for your neighborhood, just send me an email. I’d be glad to send them to you.)
Foreclosures continue to define and set the market. Overall, foreclosures were up, representing 32.8% of all sales. Think about that number. Roughly one out of every three homes that closed this past quarter was a foreclosure.
What’s interesting is that the <$200K market actually looks like it’s on the mend with foreclosures falling from 48.4% of all sales to 43.3%. The news is that the upper tier market is now getting hit by foreclosures. Although foreclosures represent only 14% of all sales, that percentage has more than tripled from a year ago.
These numbers make sense, if you think about it. A shift in the market almost always starts at the bottom and trickles up. The foreclosure tremors were felt first in the <$200K market. Those owners were likely the ones with the least amount of savings and equity to survive the storm. And as the recession drags on, the resources of the high-end owners are slowly being depleted, resulting in increasing numbers of foreclosures in the top markets.
When it comes to prices, there’s actually cheery news. The median sales price rose 8%, the first real gain in three years. Inventories are down as well. The biggest threats we now face are the foreclosures that the banks have taken back and not yet released to the market. If the banks decided to release them all at once, we could anticipate a steep drop in prices. But we’re counting on the banks not being that stupid.
Comments
Search the Site
Property Search
Find the perfect home with our advanced search specializing in finding you exactly what you are looking for, quickly!
Featured Properties
Preview our hand selected properties offering some of the best location, sq. ft, and friendly neighborhoods around!
What's Your Home Value
If you are interested in having your home evaluated and a free quote given, proceed to our Home Valuation for more information