Atlanta Real Estate: What is going on in your area?

[allisonbmurray]

CNN Money says Atlanta is a great investment right now. They say buy now, stay for 5 years and you'll be sittin' pretty.

[SCJ]

Since I posted this thread, all of the homes for sale in my neighborgood have sold within 5% of asking price (there were three for sale). I live ITP, near a Marta station, and our neighborhood has emerged as a pretty good deal (well maintained 20 year old homes, great landscaping).

Lola, I find your comments on the current Buckhead market to be interesting. As I mentioned, I am actively looking for a home in Buckhead, but it seems like there is nothing on the market right now that is remotely interesting to me (within my price range). Of course, I am in the position where I can be very picky as I have a house and do not need to move. I am starting to think about finding a tear down and custom building.

[mistersocks]

One of the things that attracted me to ATL was that the real estate market hadn't blown up. I'm a housing bubble refugee from LA, and it was insane there, with South Central shacks at the peak going for 1/2 a mil. Unfortunately, now that I'm here I see that the ATL market was victim to the other part of the bubble: "Lie until you qualify" loans that shoehorned anybody with a pulse into a mortgage. IMHO we haven't seen the full impact of all of these loans defaulting.

I'm not predicting doom, just predicting that the market is unpredictable. I look forward to a time when "real estate" and "investment" are never used in the same sentence, when people buy houses to live in instead of as an alternative retirement plan, and most of all when "Flip This House," "Flip That House" and "Flipping Out" are off the air.

Then we can start in on the next bubble. Alternative energy, anyone?

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by mistersocks

One of the things that attracted me to ATL was that the real estate market hadn't blown up. I'm a housing bubble refugee from LA, and it was insane there, with South Central shacks at the peak going for 1/2 a mil. Unfortunately, now that I'm here I see that the ATL market was victim to the other part of the bubble: "Lie until you qualify" loans that shoehorned anybody with a pulse into a mortgage. IMHO we haven't seen the full impact of all of these loans defaulting.

I'm not predicting doom, just predicting that the market is unpredictable. I look forward to a time when "real estate" and "investment" are never used in the same sentence, when people buy houses to live in instead of as an alternative retirement plan, and most of all when "Flip This House," "Flip That House" and "Flipping Out" are off the air.

Then we can start in on the next bubble. Alternative energy, anyone?

"Flipping houses" exacerbated the problem by ridiculously jacking the price up.

Where in the world did it become reasonable to put ten thousand dollars into a home only to jack the price of the home up fifty to sixty thousand dollars. I can understand a little profit, perhaps it raising the price of the house twenty thousand dollars with a ten thousand dollar investment. Yet, this is what not was occurring. People were out to get rich and take advantage of a real estate market bubble, and they could as long as anyone was getting approved for a loan, as long as creditors were lax, and as long as "people were making money". However, it was all debt, and we nearly got to the point where most people were priced out of the market, as salaries didn't keep up. To continue on a such a path would be to lead us into being a third world nation.

[Pcola110]

Ahh this thread is hilarious, people are going to spend their money on whatever they want to spend their money on! Whether that's upgrades (stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, etc) in a newly built home; same as with a new car (w/all the bells & whistles), people are going to go pay for older home in a well to do older establish neighborhood, and probably likely will spend even more money ungrading the homes features to their liking. So it's a pointless argue that older is better than newer and vice verse.

House flipping by investors isn't the only thing that as risen the prices on homes it's the appraisers that have given some of these older homes and newer built homes exaggerated appraisals for the banks to approve those loans.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by Scraper Enthusiast

"Flipping houses" exacerbated the problem by ridiculously jacking the price up.

Where in the world did it become reasonable to put ten thousand dollars into a home only to jack the price of the home up fifty to sixty thousand dollars. I can understand a little profit, perhaps it raising the price of the house twenty thousand dollars with a ten thousand dollar investment. Yet, this is what not was occurring. People were out to get rich and take advantage of a real estate market bubble, and they could as long as anyone was getting approved for a loan, as long as creditors were lax, and as long as "people were making money". However, it was all debt, and we nearly got to the point where most people were priced out of the market, as salaries didn't keep up. To continue on a such a path would be to lead us into being a third world nation.

Well said, and to be honest without sounding like a synic, I have no pity for the ones that got greedy, and are stuck with their houses. Really, how much higher did people think their cookie cutter houses were going? I am in South Florida right now, and nothing is selling. However you're seeing people getting more or less sensible now with prices. It still has a way to go. However you are seeing houses (3br/2br/2cg) that were going for almost $400k in 2004-2005, now in the mid to low $200k. With all that being said, no one is buying. Taxes, and insurance are other factors that killed the market down here. I think a lot of this happened, with people trying to keep up with the Joneses once they bought a house they could barely afford...Too bad for them, no one told them the Joneses were already broke...(squeezed out their equity to get cars and other items they could not afford). Anyone want to bet we'll see this happen in another 10-15 years? People here never learn..