The national association of Realtors just released that the Pending (homes under contract) home sales for the end of December increased 6.3% - that is great news. The buyers were primarily buying homes at steep discounts, and one of the areas was in the south.
This is consistent with what I have been seeing as I have been showing homes the last month. Last week, out of 11 homes selected to show my buyers, 4 had gone under contract, another buyer submitted an offer on a home that already had 4 offers on it, a third buyer submitted an offer on and home that went under contract the morning we submitted the offer. All these properties had several things in common such as:
- All were foreclosures
- All were deeply discounted
- One sold for 346K in 2005 and the asking price was 199K
- One was in a community where a similar home next door was listed at 325K, and it was listed at 199K
- All the homes were similar in that they needed new carpet, paint and in some cases a dishwasher, range and sheet rock repairs. All of those repairs/appliances cost 6-8K and they were buying at a discount of 50-60K.
These sales help all Sellers because as soon as the foreclosures and short sales are no longer a significant portion of the inventory, pricing will stabilize. NAR estimates 40-45% of all sales in 2008 were foreclosures/short sales. For example, the home next door to the 199K foreclosure would never sale as long as the foreclosure was on the market. That home seller will benefit by it selling.
If you want to get a list of great deals in Alpharetta or great deals in Cumming, call me at 770 722-7010 and I am happy to provide you a list of best buys.
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