Can You Still Sell Your Home in the Winter?

You missed the chance to sell in the spring and summer markets, but is it too late to sell in the winter? Find out today.

If you missed your shot at selling your home in the spring and summer markets, can you still sell in the winter? Here’s what the numbers say:

This time of year, we do have a lot fewer homes for sale. I don’t have a crystal ball for this coming winter, but in the past, we’ve had up to 50% fewer homes on the market in the winter than in other seasons. This means you’ll have less competition from other sellers, so maybe that’s a good reason to consider selling in the fall/winter. There are also fewer buyers this time of year, but only between 10% and 15% fewer.

In the past, we’ve had up to 50% fewer homes on the market in the winter.

So, you do the math: If there are half as many homes in the winter market than in other times of the year and only 15% fewer buyers, do you think the winter market is a good time to sell? I absolutely do! Interest rates are still down and the buyers are out there.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

You know you live in Atlanta when….

Friends, Clients, and Fellow ATLiens: 

Today I’d like to take a break from real estate to talk about something only us Atlantans will understand.

Whether you’re an Atlanta native or a transplant to the city, you know the A is one of a kind. But, between us ATLiens, not everything about living here is so “peachy.”

By now, you’ve probably figured out that I’m talking about our traffic. Because, let’s be honest: If there’s anything Atlantans love to hate, it’s the fact that rush “hour” lasts all day—nevermind the fact that stop signs are basically just suggestions.

Between this and the fact that a single raindrop can induce city-wide panic, driving even just a few blocks can take all afternoon. It’s no wonder so many people like to say that Atlanta is just an hour-long drive from Atlanta.

But no matter how much taking the interstate, the highway, or Peachtree (the only real three options around here) drives you crazy, you do it anyway because the only thing worse than driving in Atlanta is taking public transport in Atlanta.

The good news is that our traffic gives us a lot of extra free time to think—even if most of that thinking is about how to get away with vehicular homicide.

It’s truly amazing how fast Southern Hospitality goes out the window when ATLiens get behind the wheel—almost as fast as we could all be driving if we lived somewhere else.

As much as we complain, though, we know that our apocalypse-level traffic is a small price to pay for living in the slice of Heaven that is Atlanta. And, as your local ATLien Realtor, I’m always here for you, whether you’re looking to buy or sell a home or just to talk about the latest bridge collapse. After all, if there’s anything we spend more time doing than sitting in traffic, it’s talking about Atlanta traffic.

Speaking of which: What Atlanta traffic stories do you have? I’d love to hear about them; so reach out anytime. And as always, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email for any of your real estate needs. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Your friend,

Melida Potts

Balancing Your Home’s Price & Your Agent’s Commission

What is the right price for your home, and what is a fair commission? We’ll discuss both questions today.

Many sellers come to me saying that they want to find an agent who will help them sell their home for a high price at a low commission. Obviously, no one wants to sell their home for a low price and pay a high commission!

Here’s the issue, though: An agent or company that is willing to put homes on the market for low commission at any price doesn’t really intend to sell your property; they’re using it as bait to attract buyers so they can then sell them something else. The longer your home is on the market with them, the better off they are.

It’s a far smarter decision to put your home on the market at the right price as determined by comparable sales and at a fair commission to the agent. 

If you’re wondering what is the right price for your home or what a fair commission rate is, reach out to me. I’d be glad to give you an honest answer about the value of your home and the commission rate I tend to charge. I hope to hear from you soon!

How Does the Internet Help You Price Your Home?

How does the internet help you price your home? Find out today.

I’m often asked by clients how the internet can help them price their home. This also begs the question of what a good pricing strategy looks like.

The internet today has all of the information you could possibly want. In fact, you might say there’s an overabundance of information. What’s the trick to sorting through all of it to find the right information you need?

Well, you could check tax records, which will tell you that your home could be priced within a certain range. However, I’ve seen homes priced in that range that didn’t sell. I’ve seen homes priced higher than that range that have sold. I’ve also seen homes that were priced under that range and have yet to sell. The trick is to find the most relevant information to your case.

"If you’re simply curious about your home’s value, basic online information works fine."

So what conclusions can be drawn from the information?
In the end, if you’re simply curious about your home’s value, basic online information works fine. But if you’re seriously looking to sell your home and want to know it's worth, reach out to me. I’d be glad to give you an accurate measure of your home’s value so that we can price it to sell quickly and for the most money possible. I hope to hear from you soon!
I would love to tell you that it’s easy to establish the price of your own home. But the reality is that you can’t—not because you’re not smart enough, but because there is so much information to sort through on your own.

Should You Buy New Construction?

If you’re thinking about buying a brand-new home, I’ve got some great advice for you today. Here’s what you need to know about your options.

If you’re debating whether or not you should buy a new construction home, I’ve got some advice to share with you today about the two options you’ll have to decide between.

One option is to buy your own land and hire your own builder to build the house you really want. You’ll end up with exactly what you want, but there are some things you should be cautious about. For example, the things you want now may not be the things you want in five years, and you’ll be stuck with them. Also, building a fully custom home can affect your resale value because the more unique a home is, the fewer the number of buyers who’ll be interested in it. If you build something that’s somewhat unusual, you’ll have a narrower market of buyers.

 

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Buying a home that’s already under construction will result in significant savings.

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The second option is to find a subdivision that’s already in development with a builder who’s already building and buy one of those. Buying one of these homes will result in significant savings for you. Most of the time, builders pass on their bulk building costs to the buyer. This option is less expensive per square foot. Builders have also studied the floor plans that people like and that will increase your resale value moving forward. Personally, this is the option I would go with if I wanted to buy a brand-new home.

Either one of these options is great, but you need to decide for yourself what’s important to you in a home. If you have any questions for me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Which Is Better: Overpricing or Underpricing?

Pricing a home is tricky, but does it make more sense to price the home for more or less than its worth? The answer may surprise you.

If you’re a home seller, you might be wondering whether it’s better to overprice or underprice your home. Of course, neither is better. The best strategy is to price it just right. However, sometimes the market isn’t very clear and we end up doing one or the other. 

I would say that it’s probably more dangerous to overprice because it will result in the house accumulating market time and no offers. You won’t get your home sold. If the market is going up, that’s not a big deal. If the market is flat or moving down, it’s a real big issue.

Underpricing is an easier mistake to deal with.

Underpricing is probably an easier mistake to live with. When we underprice, it’s likely that you’ll have multiple buyers because it’s a good deal. That will result in the market bringing the price back up to where it needs to be. 

You should definitely be more afraid of overpricing, but we always strive to price just right. If you have any questions for me about pricing or about real estate in general, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Should You Sell Your Home or Rent It Out?

Should you rent or sell your home? There are three questions that you should ask yourself to help you decide.

Lately, I’ve had a lot of folks asking me if they should rent their house out or sell it.

The truth is that we can help you with either option, but here are some broad guidelines to help you make that decision:

Which would you prefer? Which option is better for you, your family, your portfolio, and your long-term investment possibilities? If your house is under the $250,000 price range, you may be able to make a good investment by renting your property. If your home is above that range, the cost to bring your home up to selling condition will be high.

If your house is under the $250,000 price range, you may be able to make a good investment by renting your property.

Why would you want to rent instead of sell? Is it the income? Is it the ability to cover certain expenses because you don’t want to take a loss on the sale of your home? Your answers to those questions need to align with your long-term goals.

What is the best option for you? Depending on the price of your home, you’re often way better off selling your home, especially if it’s more than 2,000 square feet or if it’s above the $250,000 price range.

If you think the numbers I gave are arbitrary, or if you have any questions, feel free to give me a call. I’d love to talk about this with you in more detail.

Has the Atlanta Real Estate Market Slowed Down?

Has the Atlanta market slowed down? Find out what’s going on right here.

Has the Atlanta market slowed down? Find out what’s going on right here.

Today’s topic has been on a lot of people’s minds: Has the Atlanta market slowed down? Today, I’ll
share what the numbers have to say:

1. The number of sales is down, even for the season. 
2. However, home prices are still up.
3. The supply of inventory is still the same.

Typically, for the market to have slowed, there must have been fewer sales, with prices having

dropped and supply having risen. So in the end, our market might have slowed down, but not
enough to hinder your real estate plans. If you’re thinking of selling a house, now is still a great
time to do so!

For an individual analysis of your own property, or if you have any questions, please feel free to reach
out to me. I’d love to hear from you.

Can You Sell Your Home Online?

Can you sell your home through the internet? Today I’ll explore this question.

This question is asked fairly frequently, and my answer is yes! We already use the internet to
sell homes. Your real estate expert should be marketing your home through various online platforms.

However, when people ask me that question, they often mean something a little different—they’re
really trying to ask, “Can I sell my home through the internet and pay a lower commission?”

Well, when it comes to online purchases, we tend to buy low-priced items sight unseen. On the
other hand, we don’t often make high-priced purchases online without seeing what we’re buying first. 

If you bought a 70-inch T.V. online but didn’t like it when you received it, you could always send
it back. Even if you’re looking to purchase a car online, you can always have the owner drive
over so you can inspect if before making a decision. A house, however, is a little more difficult to
drive, so you’d have to go out to the home yourself to take a look.

So, can you sell your home through the internet? Yes; it’s already happening. Should you expect
someone to buy your home online sight unseen? I don’t think that’s going to happen
anytime soon.

If you have any questions about our internet savviness or which websites we use to market
homes, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.

What Do the Numbers Say About Our Atlanta Market?

If our average home price is any indication, our Atlanta market is very strong right now.

What’s been happening in our Atlanta real estate market over the last couple months? There are two numbers that tell the tale: $240,000 and $259,000 The first is what the average home price was on January 1 of 2019. The second is what the average price was as of yesterday. This discrepancy means that we’re seeing more homes in the higher price ranges sell now than we did at the beginning of the year. Right now, our market is amazingly strong, so if you’re ready to put your home on the market or you’d like to know what it’s worth, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

What the Numbers Tell Us About Our North Atlanta Market

The numbers tell us that our market is slowing down, but they don’t tell the whole story.

What’s going on in our North Atlanta real estate market? Let’s look at a few year-over-year statistics

from this last quarter.

• The number of home sales at the beginning of this year was down 8%—however, the ratio of homes that are actually selling versus what’s currently on the market is looking great
• The average sales price rose from $281,000 to $298,000
• The number of units for sale rose from roughly 27,000 to roughly 28,000

These numbers tell us that the market is slowing down a little, but in my experience, 2019

gave us the best we’ve had in the past 15 years. Homes are selling
quickly and at decent prices.

If you have any more questions about our market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a

home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

What You Need to Know to Sell Your Home This Spring

If you’re looking to sell your home this spring, there are a few things you need to know about the spring selling season.

Spring is a great time to sell your home, but it’s not without its share of drawbacks that you need to be
aware of. There are three, in particular, you should know before starting the home sale
process:

1. It’s more competitive. There are a lot more homes on the market, so the earlier you can list
yours, the better.

2. There are more buyers out and about, which means you’ll have more showings to deal with.

3. It takes a little more work to sell in the spring—both inside the home and outside. On the
outside, people will be looking at your front yard more than they would be in the fall, winter, or
even summer. Inside the home, you need to open up your space and reflect the change of season.

If you have any questions or you need help selling your home this spring, don’t hesitate to reach
out to me. I’d love to help you.

What’s Going On In Our Marketplace?

Today I’ll address what’s happening in our market currently and what that means for home sellers.

The big question I’ve been hearing is, “What is the outlook for our market? What going to happen in 2019?” Here are some of my thoughts about the market for you to consider:

1. Interest rates are still amazingly low. When I bought my houses, interest rates were at 12.75%, which really puts into perspective how great our current 5% rate actually is. Compared to last year, however, rates are a whole point higher.

2. Houses are more expensive. Not only have interest rates risen, but home prices have gone up, as well. This is good news for sellers, but less so for buyers.

So what does the combination of these two factors mean to you as a seller? It means that if you price your property correctly according to the market and allow a good agent (like myself) to give it the proper exposure, it’s going to sell for top dollar.

If you have any questions or would like more information about how I can help you sell your home for as much as possible, please reach out to me. I would love to hear from you.

A Few Thoughts About the Best Time to Buy or Sell

Spring isn’t necessarily the best time for you to sell your home. Here are three additional factors to consider.

Here’s a question that I get a lot: Now that it’s winter, when is the best time to sell my house? Here
are three thoughts for you that will help answer the question:

1. The spring has a lot more activity. There are more houses for sale in the spring, as well as
more buyers. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean higher prices for you. Winter sales have a lot
fewer houses, but still a steady supply of buyers. From what I’ve seen, winter sales tend to bring
a little bit more money if you get in at the right time.

2. The market cycle. The market is cyclical, but we’re probably at the peak right now. We never
know when the cycle starts or ends.

3. When should you buy and/or sell? Whenever is most convenient for you. Interest rates are
still amazingly low and we’ve sold three listings this week for over their asking price.

If you have any questions for us about buying, selling, or about real estate in general, don’t hesitate
to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How to Avoid Carrying 2 Mortgages

Don’t get trapped paying two mortgages! Here’s what you can do to avoid that situation.

If you want to buy another home, what should you do with the one you already have? You
definitely don’t want to be stuck paying two mortgages (not to mention taxes, insurance, and
utilities for each), so there are a couple of options you have.

You can rent one of the properties; some of that income will count toward your new mortgage.

If you don’t want to rent, you can simply sell the property. So you don’t end up without a place
to stay in the meantime, we can find with a buyer who will allow you to rent while you search for
a new home to purchase.

Either way, you don’t want the burden of two mortgages on your shoulders. If you’d like some help navigating this process, would like more information, or have any questions, reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Which Houses Are Selling the Most?

To answer the question of which homes are selling the most, we first need to look at who’s buying.

Millennials now make up 45% of homebuyers. This means entry-level homes are moving quickly.
If your home falls in a category that millennials can afford, you’ll find yourself in the perfect market
when you decide to sell.

Generation Xers make up 37% of buyers, and they’re buying in the $400,000 to $500,000 range.

Baby boomers are still 17% of the homebuyers in our market—this generation has the most money,
but the high-end price range tends to be slow because there is such a small percentage of
these buyers.

If you’re looking to buy or sell, need more information, or have any questions, feel free to reach out
to us. We look forward to hearing from you.