Atlanta real estate market is crazy right now (Avera: house, contractor)

[plan84]

Prices are up because inventory is low. Inventory is only low because many people are buying multiple homes as investment properties (rental properties).

[citidata18]

Inventory is low because not enough homes are being built. Atlanta has returned to pre-recession growth rates, yet the pace of new home construction still remains well below even 2007 levels.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what can be done to fix that at the state/local level.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what can be done to fix that at the state/local level.

Relax zoning ordinances.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Relax zoning ordinances.

My understanding is that they're already pretty laxed in the Metro Atlanta area, compared to most metro areas.

[AtlantaMove]

Another reason for the low inventory (in addition to investors snatching up anything that is half decent below $300K) is that sellers simply aren't selling, many of them concerned about finding something else once their home sells.

[Otakumaster]

Weren't a ton of builders put out of business during the recession? I am guessing only a handful survived and that isn't enough to curve the supply issue.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

Weren't a ton of builders put out of business during the recession? I am guessing only a handful survived and that isn't enough to curve the supply issue.

Yes, that's part of it.

But the builders that remain are still complaining about construction and labor costs. And then there's the fact that banks are still being very tight with lending as well.

[DJDeadParrot]

Question from an admittedly-uninformed layperson: does the oversupply of apartments in and around town figure into the equation with regard to low inventory? It seems to me, with all these shiny new apartments being built [one of them an Ozzie Albies home run away from my home in Duluth], that there's an imbalance in the market that hasn't quite normalized in the past 10 years.

[seussie]

Originally Posted by atltaxgirl

Hi Everyone,
I'm currently renting (work off of 285 and live in an apartment close to the new Braves stadium, lease is up at the end of June). I'm trying to get into a townhome in the Kennesaw area (Kennesaw marketplace - Barrett/41) and want to stay under 200K. The market right now is absolutely nuts - places are getting multiple offers in a day or two, with the final price way above asking and recent comps. I want to get out of my apartment (paying rent stinks) and I want to get away from the new Stadium, but I don't want to overpay. I'm seriously considering renewing my lease for another 6 months because that would put me back on the market in the late fall/winter, which I hope would be a slower market. Is there any areas that I'm overlooking (want to keep my commute to 30/40 minutes)? Should I bite the bullet and pay more or should I wait until next winter when things aren't so crazy? It's very frustrating right now. Thanks for any feedback.

Hooboy does that not ring any bells for me! I've closed on a home in an area I grew up in the city, nearly no white folk or middle class blacks, and it was a competition to buy a home. A lot of it is real estate speculation and it's crazy, but, if your choice is to buy, then my only suggestion is to be the first person in line with an offer. It's definitely a race. If you have a good real estate agent and they know what you want, maybe they can visit the home for you if a post alert (which I highly suggest subscribing to) gets your interest. I had that experience for a home that posted under 24 hours before they went to check on it, and had an offer that same day to learn there were 5 offers. I knew my max (which I highly suggest you stick to) and learned I was the second offer; was bummed but the first backed out and lo and behold. Even got some deals (which is hard to do at the moment) because they wanted an insanely quick closing.

I've been on the market for about 1.5 years. I'm not sure about Kennesaw but I did regret not putting in offers on homes that weren't perfect in the winter time, only because the available homes shot up in price this spring. The experience broke my nerves but, my best wisdom is to have a max that you're absolutely not willing to move from (because closing costs can get expensive!), and come to terms with that really deciding where you're going to end up geographically.

[KingKanye]

Things are getting to expensive. I would rather it slow down and bring prices down. How are people going to afford to live here?

I thought about moving to New York or maybe DC but since their job markets are even busier there is no way I could afford the move. How do people do it?