This article first appeared at The Intown Atlanta Real Estate Examiner’s page at examiner.com… Atlanta's median Days-On-Market (DOM) decreased slightly (-1%) in the fourth quarter 2009, compared to the same period of the previous year, remaining +10.3% higher than in 4Q 2007 and +16.4% higher than 2008 for the full year in 2009. Many properties still failed to sell during their initial listing period in 2009, causing total DOM to increase during the market downturn. Even though the overall measure was slightly lower in the fourth quarter of 2009, changes by price range reveal that increases occurred in all ranges except for the <$200K range. Increases in the higher price ranges were substantial compared to those in the fourth quarter of 2008, and lower prices continue to carry Atlanta's overall real estate demand. The median of DOM segmented by Sales Price and New/Resale, shows increases in time on market for all but the resale segments below $300K. The variation … [Read more...]

This article first appeared at The Intown Atlanta Real Estate Examiner's page at examiner.com... Although multiple factors may have influenced median sales prices during this market downturn, foreclosure sales have been one of the biggest. "Expect the percentage of the portion of total sales in Atlanta represented by foreclosed properties to be high and to remain high for a few more years." Although the number of foreclosure sales fell somewhat after July, which contributed to somewhat more stable sales prices during that time, the impact of foreclosures in 2010 is expected to be significant. "On the Mortgage Banker's Association (MBA) conference call concerning the "Q2 2009 National Delinquency Survey", MBA Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann said: # The problem is moving to prime loans, and fixed rate prime loans. Although the delinquency rate is lower for prime fixed rate than for other loans, these loans make up 65.5% of all loans - so the increase matters. # … [Read more...]

This article first appeared at The Intown Atlanta Real Estate Examiner’s page at examiner.com… Median sales prices appear to have reached bottom in January, 2009. But, there is a lot more to consider. The steep declines in median sales prices seen on the chart coincided with an acceleration in the number of foreclosed properties sold in each period. Now, in 2010, the word is out that foreclosure inventory, short sale inventory and distressed selling in general will lead the market...on another downward slide. In early May, the Intown Atlanta Real Estate Examiner will examine the latest charts and statistics from the first quarter of 2010. Until then, speculation abounds and a lot of the speculation is worthy of making plans for the worst, yet hoping for the best. And, hope is not a strategy. In the meantime, some national forecasting is worth considering. The federal government has stimulated a short term period of relative stability. The federal government … [Read more...]

This article first appeared at The Intown Atlanta Examiner’s page at examiner.com… The focus of most of the articles at The Intown Atlanta Real Estate Examiner's page will be on single family housing, but a question arose today on the Trulia Voices "Question and Answer" forum that merits a little more examination. The question is "What is the median sales price for a condo in Atlanta?" That's a fairly easy question to answer but a few folks requested more geographic clarity, and some questioned the intent so the questioner, a guy named Mark, further explained "I would say for the whole metro. Overall, I am looking into a condo but want to know their value in relation to a regular home..." Here's the answer: $144,000.00 through the fourth quarter of 2009...was $164000 in 2008 and $174000 in 2007. Condos, lofts and townhomes combined. The information comes from analyzing the First Multiple Listing Service data for sold listings across eight counties - Cherokee, Cobb, … [Read more...]

A look at Atlanta's median sales prices shown monthly, by year, illustrates the degree to which prices in 2009 have declined compared to other recent years going back to 2003. Only in November and December of 2009 were median sales prices slightly ahead of the depressed prices during those months in 2008 and well below those of previous years. Since failed listings in the fourth quarter of 2009 were 59.5% of total listings, and overpriced listings were 87% of total listings, the pressure on sellers is immense. So, is hope alive? Well, recovery hawkers and confidence builders touting easier money and steadier sales make their case for 2010 as a year of growth. Robert Freedman, the Senior Editor of REALTOR magazine, stated the following in a 2010 outlook article, which quotes Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors: "Economists disagree about how the economy will fare in 2010, but they agree the recession will be firmly behind us. Yun … [Read more...]

This article first appeared at The Intown Atlanta Real Estate Examiner’s page on March 7… The median residential real estate sales price across 8 metropolitan Atlanta counties posted a small gain of .6% during the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. Although slight, this is also the first positive quarterly change in median sales prices in the last 3 years. On the downside, the median sales price in the fourth quarter was lower than that of the third quarter of 2009 and the year finished -12.5% below 2008 and -24.6% lower than 2007. To offer some perspective, here's a restatement of recent "sales" performance - a look at how many actually "sold:" •Out of every 100 finalized listings, 60 failed to sell and 40 sold •Of the 40 sold listings, 27 (67%) required a price reduction, when listing prices from previous listing periods are included, in order to attract a Buyer •Therefore, if 60 failed due to overpricing and another 27 … [Read more...]