The real estate market has changed in Atlanta and we are in a buyer’s market. To refresh, a buyer’s market is when supply outnumbers the demand. This results in swelling numbers of homes for sale and possibly flat or falling prices. I am hearing from many people that they are waiting to purchase because they feel it is going to get worse before it is going to get better. I can understand this thought process but do we really know what the future holds? Putting off buying when it is a good time to buy is a bad idea. There is very often a lag in reporting on the real estate market. By the time the news media begins to report that the real estate market is improving, it will be too late. This is the danger in putting off the decision to purchase real estate in a buyer’s market. You can negotiate with leverage now but may not have that leverage come February or March. You will only know when we have reached the bottom when the bottom has passed us. Yes, you can wait until February but you could pay 50k more for that 400k house, is that something you are ok with?

Some things to consider if holding off purchasing in the Atlanta Market.

  1. Builders are not building more spec homes, each one that is sold a a deep discount removes one home from the supply. Most builders will not be starting SPEC home unless a buyer has already put a contract in to build that home.
  2. Buyers are out there now buying the homes that present the BEST value.
  3. If you wait until after Jan 1. to buy, you will have to wait an entire year to qualify for your Homestead Property Tax Exemption, thus increasing your tax burden.
  4. The Atlanta Economy Remains Strong with Population Growth Continuing.

All of the fundamentals point to a rebound in Atlanta’s Real Estate Market.  Will it be early 2008, mid-2008 or late 2008?  I do not know and neither do you, but I can tell you that Atlanta is in the middle of a down market unlike any previously seen! Why not take advantage of it?  Think about the last time you tried to time the bottom of the stock?  Very hard to do if not impossible!