Alpharetta / Milton Sales Prices Increase: Where’s The Celebration?
categories: Alpharetta Real Estate, Local Market Conditions, Metro Atlanta Statistics, Milton Real Estate
It’s great news, but somehow it doesn’t seem to be resonating with people. The AJC reported this weekend that the average sales price in zip code 30004 increased year-over-year. I reported similar data on a recent post, showing that the average sales price in North Fulton West of 400 increased 2.2% in March ‘10 over March ‘09. I’ve asked a few people about this and the response is the same. They yawn and say, “Wow, that’s great”.
The market here in Alpharetta / Milton has certainly stabilized. Zip code 30004 made the number 2 position in the top 4 Metro Atlanta zip codes for year-over-year increases. Griffin, in Spalding County (30223) saw a 3.35% increase, followed by Alpharetta / Milton’s (30004) 2.48% rise. Smyrna (30080) came in at 2.25% and Suwanee in Forsyth County (30024) rounded out the top 4 at 1.16%
This data confirms that our market has turned the corner, but we’ve been seeing other signs of this for a few months now. Things are loosening up in other markets, allowing home sellers elsewhere to become buyers here. Some of those buyers took a ‘hit’ on the sale of their homes and are coming here looking to do the same. What they are finding is that in areas like North Atlanta, where good schools and quality of life create demand and price increases, they can’t get what they perceive is a good deal.
There are plenty of places around Metro Atlanta where you can still negotiate hard and get something for pennies on the dollar. But if you are narrowing your search to a specific city, or certain schools, then the general market conditions for the Metro area no longer may apply.
Sellers here have long since adjusted their sales prices and for the most part, homes on the market in this area are priced correctly. Sellers are negotiating but not selling for 85% of asking price. In fact, many are getting close to 95% of current asking prices - but keep in mind these prices are off of the 2006 highs by about 18%. We are still far from a sellers market and buyers do have a lot to choose from, however, the homes that are in great shape and priced right are selling quickly. Buyers who don’t realize this end up missing out.
So with this good news there should be more cheering out there. Maybe the psyche of sellers and buyers are lagging the data. But rest assured, as we continue to get good economic data on our market, housing will continue to get more and more competitive in areas like the top 4 zip codes mentioned. When good foreclosures do show up, there will be multiple offers. So, if you are buying right now, evaluate comps in the past 90 to 120 days - anything older than that is old news.
