Villa Rica’s active listings are down from last year – Villa Rica Real Estate
As we approach the half way point of the year, investors and home buyers that were once on the fence are now picking up the pace in the Atlanta real estate market and Villa Rica real estate. These buyers are taking advantage of the lowest interest rates in years coupled with a all time low price points to create a market we have not seen in a while. According to a recent Times Georgia article, Villa Rica is also experiencing a much lower occurrence of vacant homes. The city has been burdened with the foreclosure crunch with Carroll county ranking high in the state with the many abandoned homes. These homes require monitoring and can result in citations if not kept up by banks or asset managers. According to the Times Georgia report, Villa Rica has reached a milestone, but it’s not one that 10 years ago, or even two years ago, city officials would have ever welcomed as the good news they do now. For the first time in 18 months, the city can boast that it has fewer than 500 vacant homes. As of the end of June — the last numbers available — the city had 495 vacant homes. The last time the number dropped below 500 was Dec. 31, 2010, when there were 337 vacant homes. A month later the number had risen to 577 vacant homes and it has stayed above the 500 threshold ever since, even eclipsing 600 during July and August of last year.“One of the indicators that I look at each month for the city is the number of vacant homes,” City Manager Larry Wood said. “This is the first time we have been below 500 in 18 months and I like the trend.”Read more: Times-Georgian Numbers according to the MLS also confirm active listings are down about 25% from 2011. This decrease in inventory had buyers on the lookout for that great deal. Good deals are resulting in multi bud offers from home buyers and investors. Her is a graph that depicts current listings compared to last year. Chip Hurst is a local real estate agent in the West Atlanta Area. Maximum One Realty of Greater Atlanta is unlike most real estate companies that force you to do things one way or their way, we believe you should have choices to pick and choose what best fits your individual needs. We are always looking for new ways to make and West Atlanta real estate more efficient AND without sacrificing quality or service. If you’re looking to buy a home in West Atlanta or sell your existing West Atlanta property, we will be happy to take care of your real estate needs. Our mission is to provide outstanding customer service while utilizing the best practices and systems available. For more information about List! Buy! Save! real estate services and how we can best serve you, please fill out the online contact form or give us call today! Chip Hurst Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta 770.294.9976 Mobile Hurstch@bellsouth.net www.WestAtlantaRealEstate.com
Douglasville Real Estate Foreclosures Still Steady in 2012
The foreclosures are still steady in metro counties with Atlanta being hit hard still late in 2012 with not much sign of slowing. Carroll and Douglas Counties in general is still experiencing some of the highest foreclosure rates around. The heat map below depicts the degree to which Georgia counties are experiencing the number of foreclosures in September. Both Douglas and Carroll County are high but the leading county is Newton County on the east side of Atlanta with 1 out of every 205 in foreclosure. Carroll County on the west side is 1 out of every 215. A typical slow down will occur during December with many lien holders choosing not to take back properties during holidays but an increase will pick back up in December. If you are facing foreclosure and would like to discuss some alternatives with a real estate agent, please send us a message. <p
Should you renovate your home
I get a lot of questions on what to fix or repair before listing a home. Here is some great insight on what is important when selling in 2021. To Renovate or Not To Renovate Before You Sell When thinking about selling, homeowners often feel they need to get their house ready with some remodeling to make it more appealing to buyers. However, with so many buyers competing for available homes right now, renovations may not be as vital as they would be in a more normal market. Here are two things to keep in mind if you’re thinking of selling this season. 1. There aren’t enough homes for sale right now. A normal market has a 6-month supply of houses for sale, but today’s housing inventory sits far below that benchmark. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), there’s only a 1.9-month supply of homes available today. As a result, buyer competition is high and homes are only on the market for about 21 days, during which time many receive multiple offers from hopeful buyers. In a competitive market that’s moving so quickly, it makes sense to sell your house when buyers are scooping homes up as fast as they’re being listed. Spending costly time and money on renovations before you sell might just mean you’ll miss your key window of opportunity. While certain repairs on your house may be important, your best move right now is to work with a real estate advisor to determine which improvements are truly necessary, and which ones are not likely to be deal-breakers for buyers. Today, many buyers are more willing to take on home improvement projects themselves in order to get the home they’re after, even if it means putting in a little extra work. Home Advisor explains: “When it comes to the number of home improvement projects completed, Gen Z homeowners are leading the pack, completing an average of 3.5 projects. Millennials closely follow Gen Z, taking on an average of 3.3 projects, followed by Gen X at 2.8 projects. Boomers completed an average of 2 projects, and the Silent Generation completed the fewest projects, on average, at 1.8 per household. Compared to 2019, millennials are spending 60% more on home improvement and doing on average 30% more projects.” In this market, it may be wise to let future homeowners remodel the bathroom or the kitchen to make design decisions that are best for their specific taste and lifestyle. As a seller, your dollars and time might be better spent working on small cosmetic updates, like refreshing some paint and power washing the exterior. Instead of over-investing in your home with upgrades that the buyers may change anyway, work with a real estate professional to determine the key projects that will maximize your listing, without overdoing it. 2. Focus on getting a good return on your investment. When planning any bigger projects to tackle, you and your real estate agent will want to discuss the potential return on your investment and if those projects are worth the cost. Some homes do need a kitchen or bathroom renovation, roof repairs, or other major work, but definitely not all of them. You might be surprised by how well your house could fair in today’s sellers’ market. Hanley Wood states: “The 2020 Cost vs. Value report shows a predictable increase in costs for all 22 remodeling projects but a consistent dip in the perceived value of those projects at the time of home sale, as estimated by real-estate professionals in more than 100 metro areas across the U.S. This results in a slight downturn on the return on investment for nearly all projects relative to the trends we saw in last year’s report.” Ideally, homeowners getting ready to move should try to avoid over-investing in big renovations if they won’t make that money back when they sell their house. According to the 2020 State of Home Spending report from Home Advisor: “The average household spending on home services rose to $13,138, an increase over last year’s survey results, where homeowners who did projects spent $9,081 on average in 2019.” Before you renovate, contact a local real estate professional to see if it’s the best course of action. You may find out that putting your house on the market as-is will help you sell quickly, and it may result in the best return on your investment. Every home is different, but a conversation with your agent is mission-critical to make sure you make the right moves when selling this season. Bottom Line We’re in a strong sellers’ market, and that means you have the leverage to sell your house on your terms. Let’s connect today to determine if renovating is really the best way to spend your time and money before you sell.