Atlanta Housing Market Update 2022

Atlanta Housing Market At A Glance

It’s no secret that the Atlanta housing market has been on fire for the last two years. The cause? Historically low mortgage rates and the coronavirus. People tried to flee largely populated areas to get to the less dense suburbs. Current homeowners didn’t want to sell their current property, and new construction was down due to a lack of labor, all leading to a shortage of homes, new and existing. So what does the rest of 2022 have in store for the housing market?

Home Sales Are Slowing

Two significant factors are slowing home sales right now: rising interest rates and more homes are coming to market. It looks like the seller’s market is turning more to a buyer’s, or at least becoming a more stable, normal real estate market.

Kam Williams recently stated this in Atlanta Magazine:

The days of having a listing come on at 5 o’clock, and having to see it by 5:05, and having 40 offers on one property—we’re not having that anymore,” she says. “Now buyers are a bit relieved. If they see something, they don’t have to run out in the next two seconds

Read The Full Article Here

This leads us to our next question that has a lot of people concerned –

Are We Headed For A Crash?

Many people are worried about another crash like that of ’08. In fact, Google trends show that more people are searching the term “housing crash” and similar terms more than at any time since ’07.
If you listen to the news, it’s all gloom and doom, but the market data doesn’t support it. Some experts predict a housing market correction.

The housing crash of ’08 was due to banks’ loose lending standards and an overabundance of homes. Banks aren’t giving out the risky loans they did years ago, and foreclosures still remain low. Housing inventory still remains critically low overall. However, metro Atlanta’s housing inventory rose to its highest level since September 2020. This gives more proof things are turning in favor of buyers.

Again, what we are seeing is a return to a normal market.

What’s Making The Market Turn?

Rising interest rates are a real problem for some would-be buyers. Prices of homes are still extremely high. The median price for a home in Atlanta is over $400,000, the price alone is driving out a lot of young and first-time homebuyers, and rising interest rates only exasperate the problem. For instance, a 2% rate increase from a fixed rate of 3.5% to 5.5% on a $300,000 home would mean an increase in monthly payments of over $350.00. So, in theory, this will affect buyers on the lower end, having less inventory and competing with other buyers wanting the same property.

What’s Ahead For The Rest Of 2022?

We wish we had a crystal ball, but we don’t, so all we can do is follow the market data.

Housing inventory remains extremely low. Many would-be sellers don’t want to sell because of rising interest rates and lose the low 3.5% rate they have now. However, people will become used to the higher interest rates and continue to buy. If you need to move because of a job transfer, it’s out of necessity, not luxury.

Rising interest rates will definitely slow new home construction. The data is already showing fewer permits being pulled for new home construction.

Our take:

We think things will continue to slow, especially if interest rates continue to rise. Rising interest rates are the only hedge the Fed has against inflation. Inventory remains extremely low, which will keep prices high, but we will see a small correction in prices as we are already seeing sellers having to lower their asking prices in some areas.

As a reminder, if you have a home that you have inherited, are a tired landlord, have a house that is ugly or pretty – we would love the opportunity to make you an offer on it, just get in touch with us!

Process Of Selling A House For Cash

News / By Mandich Property Group

If you have ever sold a home before, you know selling can be a long and drawn out process. For this reason more and more people are choosing to sell their home to cash buyers. Why? Because the process is streamlined, and in most cases, hassle free. So how does the process work? That’s just what we are about to explain.

The Typical Selling Process

First, if you have never sold a property before, or it has been awhile since you have sold a home, here is a quick video that breaks down what is usually involved:

Showings, negotiations, appraisals and inspections – and in the end the buyer may not even close on the property and you have to start all over again, which can add months to the selling process. When you sell to a cash buyer you can skip the showings, appraisals and inspections, cleaning and repairs.

Find A Reputable Company

This step is probably the most important. There are tons of “investors” in every city. The majority of them are legit companies, while others not so much.

The first step you must take when trying to sell your home quickly, for cash, is to find a reputable buyer. Unfortunately, there are more than a few nefarious individuals and companies out there who are looking to “rip-off” unsuspecting homeowners who need to sell.

If you’re planning to sell to a cash homebuyer, you’ve got to do your homework! Research your options before making a decision. Look for a company with an established reputation, plenty of customer reviews, and a reputation for fairness.

Read The Full Article Here

Probably one of the best ways of checking to be sure you are dealing with a reputable company is to check them out online. If you found their number on a telephone pole, or you received a post card or letter in the mail, go ahead and do a Google search. If you find very little about them, or nothing at all, you will probably want to search for someone else. You want to find a company with great reviews and has been in business for some time, at least a few years.

The Process

It is extremely simple. Way easier than listing with an agent. It can be as easy as starting with a few phone calls:

This atypical selling house for cash process begins with a homeowner deciding to sale. Instead of contacting a real estate agent though, they call their preferred cash buyer. The cash buyer assumes the role of the realtor and assesses the property – sometimes with walk throughs, sometimes using comparable homes – to determine a fair market value cash offer.

After, they present the cash offer to the homeowners, the sellers can choose to close at their earliest convenience. No waiting for a financial approval! Selling my house to cash buyers meant I was in control. I determined the closing date, kept the traditional realtor’s commission, and approved a cash offer I felt to be fair.

Read The Full Article Here

The process can vary from company to company. It may also depend on whether or not you are dealing with an IBuyer or We Buy Houses company.

How Our Process Works

We have made the process about as easy as it can be.

First – just give us a call and give us some basic information about the property.

Second – we will do some preliminary research about the house and the area. At this point, with the information you have given us about the house and our research we will be able to give you a “ball park” offer on the house, a range of how much we can pay for the property.

Third – we visit the house and finalize the offer. If you like it and accept it, we sign a simple 2 page purchase and sell agreement. We hand over the paper work to our closing attorney, they finalize all of the documents and within a week you can have your home sold – for cash.

If you have a house anywhere in the Atlanta area the you need to sell, want to sell fast, and/or sell for cash, just visit our website to complete a brief form or give us a call at 770-756-8680.

If you want to learn more about how we buy houses click here.

We Buy Houses Pros And Cons

News / By Mandich Property Group

A lot of people often wonder how we buy houses works and the Pros and Cons of selling your home to a we buy houses company. In this short article we will cover a little of both the Pros and the Cons.

But first, if you have a property anywhere in the Metro Atlanta area that you would like to sell we would like the opportunity to make you a fair, no hassle, fast cash offer for your home in its present condition. No need to make any repairs, clean or worry about staging, we buy “as-is”. You can reach us at (770) 756-8680 or visit our main website to fill out a short questionnaire and we will get back in touch with you shortly. Now – on with the article 🙂

The real estate market, especially selling and buying residential property, has changed dramatically over the past few years. There’s no doubt you have seen signs on the side of the road or stapled to a telephone pole “We Buy Houses”. It’s actually becoming much more common for homeowners to sell their property without the aide of an agent and selling to some sort of investor.

If you are like a lot of homeowners you may have never dealt with this type of buyer before. So lets get into some of the Pros and Cons.

We Buy Houses Companies Pros

No Realtors And Lengthy Contracts

There are quite a few pros to selling your home to an investor. First you don’t have to go through the hassle of finding a good, reputable agent that can get your home sold in a reasonable amount of time. Without a listing that means no showings, which means no having to make your house spic and span and keeping it that way for potential buyers dropping by spur of the moment. In short, cutting out using an agent can cut down on your possible headaches considerably.

Selling As Is For Cash

An article from Forbes goes on to explain a few other benefits that a homeowner might enjoy when it comes to selling:

Selling “As Is” – Typically, investors offer to purchase a property “as is,” many times sight unseen. As a seller, that allows you to avoid any costly repairs that would normally be considered your financial responsibility.

Fast Closings – There are investors who can close within 7 days. How is that possible? Because the sale of the property is not reliant on approved financing, appraised values, home inspections, or the like; bypassing all of these steps expedites the process considerably.

Read The Full Article Here

One word of caution from the Forbes article is an investor that will purchase the property sight unseen. We find it very hard for any investor, whether local or IBuyer (learn more about IBuyers here) to purchase a property without inspecting it. We have seen that when they buy sight unseen their offers tend to be extremely low.

Probably the best benefit is being able to sell a property without having to worry about making any repairs or updates. Any one that has sold a property before knows what we are talking about. Not only do you have to be concerned with the repairs that you see need to be done, but a picky buyer and their inspector pick your house apart wanting all kinds of little things fixed or some sort of contingency.

Here is a quick video that explains in a little more depth the advantages of selling to an investor:

Cons

There are a couple of cons when it comes to selling your house to an investor or we buy houses company. It is not for every homeowner! If your house is in good to excellent condition and you have time to wait on a buyer, then most likely listing your home and selling with an agent is probably going to be best for you. Why? Because of price.

Price

An investor or company buys houses to make money. So you are not going to get top dollar for your home. Here’s a snippet of another article that backs that up:

Selling to a cash homebuying company is unlikely to get you the full market value of your home. Investors are taking a chance by buying your home as is, and the lack of costs to you (such as commissions and fees) will be factored into their offer.

Remember, too, that you’re being handed cash, often days or weeks after your initial contact. That convenience and speed will cost you.

Read The Full Article Here

It’s true that investors are taking on the risk. Anything could happen in the time from when they purchase the property to when its ready to sell and closed.

Scams

There are a lot of honest, reputable companies all across the lower 48 that want to buy your house. But yes, there are people out there waiting and wanting to take advantage of you. Here’s a snippet from WHNT that explains more:

Pay attention to suspicious advertising. Be wary of signs and solicitations that only include a phone number and no other details. If a business is legitimate, it will not try to hide information from you.

Do your research. Search for legitimate businesses that pay cash for homes using org as well as other review sites. Always read complaints and reviews on the business before you sign on the dotted line.

Never pay an upfront fee. A legitimate quick-sell business will not ask for you to pay any upfront fees.

Read The Full Article Here

You have got to make sure you are dealing with a reputable home buying company!

Summing It Up

There are some great benefits for a home owner to sell their property to a we buy houses company. Fast closings, no repairs and no agents or showings. The biggest con – you are not going to get full market value. As to how much of a percentage of full market value you will get will vary from company to company. Go ahead and contact several to get the best price as well as ensure that you are dealing with a reputable company and you should come out fine in the end.

Again, if you are anywhere in the Metro Atlanta area and want to sell, reach out to us at (770) 756-8680 anytime. If you are wondering more about how our process works, check out this article.

Is The Atlanta Housing Market Slowing

News / By Mandich Property Group

Today’s Pulse On Atlanta’s Housing Market

For a few years now housing prices have been steadily climbing higher, especially in the Metro Atlanta area. If your house was immaculate or at least in decent condition, it would sell. Chances are you would have multiple offers on your property. But things look like they are changing.

First things first, if you have a property anywhere in the Metro Atlanta area, we would like the opportunity to make you an offer for it just the way it is. No hassles and a fast easy sale. You can contact us at (770) 756-8680 or visit this page and complete a short form and we will contact you shortly.

Okay – now on to why you are here – to learn what’s happening in today’s real estate market.

Bidding Wars Are Down

It looks like the days of putting a property on the market and the price getting run up by multiple offers are becoming a thing of the past for sellers. Don’t believe us? Check out this from Redfin’s Blog about bidding wars by Dana Olsen:

Just 10.4 percent of offers written by Redfin agents on behalf of their homebuying customers faced a bidding war in August, down from more than 42 percent a year earlier. That overtakes last month’s 11.4 percent bidding-war rate as the lowest on record since at least 2011.

The national bidding war rate reached a high of 59 percent in March 2018, then started to drop as homebuyers reached their limit with sky-high housing prices and rising mortgage rates in the middle of last year. As the housing market has cooled slightly, so has competition to purchase homes.

Continue Reading – 10% of Redfin Offers Faced Bidding Wars in August, a New 8-Year Low

We suggest you visit that page and look at the graph that shows the National trend and you will see it hit a peek of around 60% in 2017 nationally and is now down around 10%.

Recession Fears

If you watch any news at all you know that we are in the midst of a trade war with China. While we believe this hurts the Chinese more than us, yet it still reeks havoc on the Stock Market. Add to that every other country in the world has a slowing economic market. All of this makes buyers think twice about purchasing a property, especially if they think there is a down turn about to happen. Everybody remembers the housing bubble of ’08, it’s fresh in their minds. Also there was an inverted yield curve in the month of August, which is usually a good indicator of a recession looming.

Lisa Chamoff wrote about this in a recent post on Forbes:

Homebuyer confidence is dropping, and more than half of current house hunters plan to put their home search on hold until the economy recovers, according to survey data released this week by Realtor.com.

The survey this month by Toluna Research found that more than 36 percent of 755 active home buyers expect the U.S. to go through a recession next year. This is up by about 6 percent when shoppers were asked the same question this past March.

Continue Reading – More Than A Third Of Home Buyers Think A Recession Is Coming

Atlanta’s Housing Market

So where does Atlanta’s housing market fall in all of this. Inside the perimeter we are seeing some change. We have seen properties listed longer as well as sellers having to slash their asking price.

Michael E. Kanell had this to say about it in the AJC earlier this year:

Yet the number of homes sold during the month was 8.9 percent below that of March 2018 as fewer buyers and sellers found common ground. Home sales volume has been declining for several months in metro Atlanta, including a 7.4 percent drop in February.

Read The Full Article Here

Over the years we have always seen inside the perimeter to be effected first, then spread to the surrounding counties.

So Are We Headed For Another Housing Crisis?

In all actuality, we don’t think so. There were two major factors that really had an effect on the crash of ’07-’08.

First, there were a lot of homes available. Builders were going crazy putting up new subdivisions everywhere throughout the Metro Atlanta area. The supply far outweighed the demand.
Second, Banks and Mortgage companies were making very risky loans and basically lending money to people that couldn’t afford to make the payments. Since the crash though lending standards have tightened up, to a degree.

In Conclusion

So what’s the take away from this? We do think there will be a correction coming, no market keeps going up for ever. At some time there has to be some sort of correction and prices will probably drop a bit. If the China trade war continues or there is some other global economic catastrophe, it may be a little more severe. However, we aren’t trying to paint an all “Doom and Gloom” scenario!

Bottom line, if you have a house that you are thinking of selling, now is the time to do it. This is especially true if you have a house that is a “handy-man special” that needs some repairs or needs major work and you can’t afford to make the repairs and need to sell as is.

Even if you house is ready to list with an agent – it’s still a good time to sell. Better now than later and have to wait until after any correction because you never know how long that will take.

Here’s a short video that goes over a few of the points we covered and will expand more on these thoughts:

The Difference Between IBuyers And We Buy Houses Companies

News / By Mandich Property Group

IBuyer V.S. We Buy Houses

There are some new players in the Real Estate market that suggest they have an easier way to sell your home. These are companies like Knock, Offerpad and Opendoor and a few others. But is it really easier? And what’s the difference to a “We Buy Houses” Company?

Before we get into the differences between the two, we would like you to know that if you need to sell a house anywhere in the Atlanta area – please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 770-756-8680 for a free, no obligation on your home or visit our site here to complete a brief form and we will contact you shortly. You can also learn more about how We Buy Houses in this post.

Now on to who and what these IBuyer companies do:

Algorithm Powered Home Flippers

Before we get into any of the differences in the two, here is a quick run down on how most of these IBuyer companies work from an article written by Joshua Fraser:

The iBuyer business model is pretty straight forward, a real estate company uses data science and property data, both public and private, to create valuation models that identify home with high investment potential. They can then make an instant offer that provides liquidity to homeowners that doesn’t exist on the traditional real estate market. Typically, iBuyers charge a 7-10% fee compared to a standard 6% agent commission and will offer an 80-100% of the market value for a home. They might charge a higher fee for convenience but many sellers will be willing to pay for the benefit of being able to have a sale finalized within weeks or even days. You may take home a bit less than the traditional method but you can save time and all the headaches that come along with selling or buying a home.

Read The Full Article Here

So IBuyers do work a lot like real estate investors, EXCEPT with all most all investors there is no 7-10% fee charged. Now also depending on where your home is located in Atlanta, investors will offer 70-75% of the properties ARV, or After Repair Value. So in all actuality, so far the two different ways of selling a home appear to be pretty close to the same.

Repairs

But what about repairs? This is where there is a difference in IBuyers And We Buy Houses companies. With investors they will typically buy the house in “as is” condition and deduct the costs of repairs from their offer.

So how about IBuyers? Here is a little snippet from an article written by John Wake:

If the homeowner accepts/signs the “instant” offer, the iBuyer will send out home inspectors and come back with a list of repairs and the estimated costs for the repairs the iBuyer wants done to the house before they will complete the purchase. The seller can make the repairs or the seller can agree to have the cost of the repairs added to the fees the seller will pay to the iBuyer at closing.

A common real estate agent complaint about iBuyers is that iBuyers tend to ask for a lot more repairs and a lot more money for repairs than traditional buyers…

Read The Full Article Here

So they might want repairs to be made to the house before they purchase it, and might charge you more. We would suggest that what ever repairs they say need to be made that you also receive a quote from a professional contractor as well to make sure their prices are in line. If you can get them done cheaper yourself, that might be the route to take, but it will take some time for your contractor to complete. Remember with most real estate investors, like us, you can sell your house in “as-is” condition.

What Are Other People Saying?

So what do some people think about this fairly new way of selling a home? Here is an excellent example just written and released by Andrea Riquier about the Ano family experience in Acworth GA:

Ano, who describes himself as someone who likes to do lots of research — including an exploration of how much he could expect to fetch for his home based on recent comparables — initially reached out on his own to Zillow, Offerpad and Opendoor.

“First of all, they gave us lowball offers,” Ano told MarketWatch. “But that still didn’t solve our problem of where do we move to? We’d essentially be homeless.” He knew that in the ultra-competitive Atlanta market sellers would be unwilling to accept an offer that was contingent on his selling his own home.

Ano received an offer of $248,747 from Offerpad. Several weeks later, citing “recent market activity,” the company sent another offer, unsolicited, of $256,459. Offerpad wanted a 7.5% commission. Opendoor offered $278,300 — less an 11.5% commission. After a Knock agent listed the home, it sold for $297,749. Once Knock’s 6% fee was taken out, and a seller concession of $10,000 was granted during the inspection process, and about $7,000 was spent out of pocket on repairs, the Anos netted about $262,000.

Read The Full Article Here

We highly encourage you to read Andrea’s full article. It has a lot of good data in it about how the entire process works as well as market data.

Is It Right For You?

First of all no two real estate transactions are the same, nor are the sellers motivation or need to sell. We would suggest that you look at all of your options. Check out an IBuyer company, a “we buy houses” company ( like us 🙂 ) and even a real estate agent. Anyone that you contact should make you a free offer. If they want to charge you – move on to someone else.

What and who will work best for you is going to depend on your individual situation and circumstances. Remember, in the end you have the final say on who and how you choose to sell your house.

We Buy Homes In Any Condition Fast For Cash In Atlanta

News / By Mandich Property Group

How To Sell Your House For Cash Fast In Atlanta!

(770) 756-8680

Do you want to sell your Atlanta house fast for cash and not have to pay commissions or any other hidden fees? Mandich Property Group will buy your house with a fair, all cash offer – no commissions, no closing costs and no hidden fees. No need for you to waste time looking for an agent and making costly repairs or waiting an unknown amount of time to get an acceptable offer and with no strangers trampling through your house – when all you want to do is relax. You don’t have to settle for any of those inconveniences or lengthy real estate agent contracts.

Mandich Property Group will buy your house in as is condition and in any price range. We purchase properties all over the Atlanta area. The best part is no fees, no commissions, no obligation and no cleaning whatsoever. Regardless of why you need to sell, we will buy your home fast.

We know selling a house is stressful under the best of times and if you are experiencing any financial problems on top of that – well it just makes it that much worse. We have bought houses from people that have had a death in the family and inherited a property, facing foreclosure, relocating, owe back taxes, facing divorce, damages and so many other reasons… we have worked with them all and will work with you also.

We will pay you a fair cash offer for your property in it’s current condition, no matter what that condition might be. We are an investment company that pays cash so you/we will not have to wait for any paperwork or approvals to be made, we can pay you cash in your time frame. Therefore we can make this transaction fast and hassle free! We will not pressure you at anytime, if you don’t like our offer you are under no obligation to take it. However, we find most people that weigh the options find they like our offer, due to the process being fast and hassle free.

We are not like some “we buy houses” companies that make an offer without even seeing the property. We take many things into consideration in the price of the offer we make. We base the price off the current market value, the condition of the property and a lot of other pertinent information such as the community and schools. Then we will make you a fair all cash offer.

We can move as quickly as you want and close on the sale in just a few days if that fits your schedule. We strive to make the process of selling a house as painless ass possible, we will answer any questions or concerns you might have.

We have made the selling process extremely easy for you;

Contact us – just call us at (770) 756-8680 or click this link to fill out a short form, we just need some basic information to get started.
We will do some research on the property and the area and contact you with any questions.
We will schedule a time at your convenience to come look at the property (don’t worry, no need to repair anything or even clean – it will not be an inspection).
We will make you a fair cash offer.
Accept the offer and pick a closing date. Come to closing with our local, reputable real estate attorney and then the best of all – you walk away with cash.

We make it as easy as that! If you like the offer we make, you walk with cash on the closing date of your choice – if you don’t like the offer we make when meet you at the house, we walk away.

Again – any size, any condition and any reason, we will buy your house in as is condition. We have helped others in Atlanta and we can help you too.

So contact us today to start the process, we look forward to working with you soon.

More About Us On Google

News / By Mandich Property Group

Mandich Property Group

We make it easy for home owners when it comes time to sell their home. Whether you need to sell your home quickly because of a job transfer or any other urgent circumstance, or you have a house that needs a lot of repairs that you can’t afford or don’t want to do, we are the people you need to call.

We would like the opportunity to make you a fair, all cash offer on your home.

You can reach us at (770) 756-8680 for a free, no obligation offer on your house. If you prefer to contact us via email just fill out the form below and we will contact you shortly.

To learn more about us and how we buy houses simply click here to visit our homepage, or check us out on Google here.

You can also scroll down and see some of our Latest News directly from Google. Either way, we look forward to hearing from you and buying your house!

Check Out Our New URL Shortener!

News / By Mandich Property Group

We are proud to announce that we have our very own URL shortener! We know that some of our URL’s are really long, and remembering our web address to one of our pages can be really hard. We wanted to make it easier for you to find us and make it easier to contact us to sell a property.

So here it is – SellNow.cc

So now instead of having to remember this long URL https://www.mandichpropertygroup.com/cobb-county/marietta for a house that you are looking for information about selling in Marietta, now you can just use sellnow.cc/marietta – That’s a whole lot easier!

We have also included our social media sites as well. So if you want to check us out on Twitter, simply go to sellnow.cc/twitter.

We have also created a Google Spreadsheet for quick reference with all of our most popular links. We are continually adding to it, so check it out when you get a chance. You can access it at sellnow.cc/shortlinks and we have included it as well.

Thanks, and if you have a house that you need to sell anywhere in the Atlanta area, we would love the opportunity to make you an all cash offer on your property. You can call us at 770-756-8680.