Vol 11, Issue 3 Early Fall 2018

the BEACHAM INSIDER V O L . 1 1 , I S S U E 3 | E A R LY FA L L 2 0 1 8 One Buckhead Plaza | 3060 Peachtree Road, Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30305 | 404.261.6300 WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING TECHNOLOGY NOT JUST BUZZ WORD PROPERTY TAXES BEACHAM BELLWETHERS page 2 page 3 page 3 page 4 ABOUT THE HOUSING MARKET H O W R E A L E S TAT E I S C H A N G I N G T H E L AT E S T 2 0 1 8 B I L L S H O T M A R K E T U P D AT E ATLANTA $1-2 MILLION MARKET SURGES WHILE OVERALL MARKET CONTINUES TO BE STATIC; BEACHAM BUCKS THE TREND WITH RECORD SUMMER CLOSINGS Sales of all single-family detached homes remained unchanged this summer compared to a year ago. Sales of attached homes (condos and townhomes), which have buoyed the market for much of the year, declined just 1%. Attached homes have remained attractive to first-time home buyers and down-sizing Baby Boomers seeking lower prices, low maintenance and value. COOKIE CUTTER DOESN'T CUT IT >88 % OF CONSUMERS prefer locally owned independent real estate brokerages vs. national franchises. CUSTOMIZED APPROACH TO MARKETING WINS Source: U.S. consumer segmentation study conducted on behalf of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) by McKee Wallwork + Co. and Decision Analyst. Since last summer, closings for both attached and detached homes have remained in line with the previous year. The reason? A lack of move-in inventory (homes that are not in need of renovation) and an increase in mortgage rates. Conversely, home buyers in the $1 million to $2 million range propelled sales to a new record this summer, including a 50% increase in June alone. (continued on page 2) 0 P WHAT'S HOT • The average sales price of condos and townhomes continued to rise at a torrid pace this summer. Multi-family appreciation (condos and townhomes) was nearly twice that of single family residential as buyers seek value in a low inventory, rapid appreciation environment • Ansley Park, Ashford Park, south and central Buckhead, Dunwoody and Smyrna (see page 4) • Getting photos taken of a home you plan to list this fall now before the leaves change • Year-end employee relocation to and from Atlanta • Renting. Don’t listen to anybody who tells you renting makes sense unless it’s for the short term • Interest rates. Expect continued increases in the mortgage interest rate as the economy shows no signs of slowing PER THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (NAR) Only 8% of sellers last year – an all- time low – chose to sell their home themselves, according to NAR’s 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. That figure has been falling since 2004, when 14% of homeowners sold their own homes. Here's why: All REALTOR-assisted home sales: $250,000 (median selling price) For sale by owner (FSBO) homes: $190,000 FSBO homes when buyer knew seller: $160,300 ERCENT BUSINE If your home is currently listed for sale, this newsletter is not intended as a solicitation of your business. According to Showing Time, a national online scheduling tool used by the real estate industry to coordinate showings of properties, Southern states had the greatest increase in showing requests year-over- year for four consecutive months. TAKEAWAY: Even if home sales are down from last summer, demand is stronger in Atlanta than in most areas of the country. 4 Whole percentage point difference between mortgage interest rates this June vs. June 2007 at the peak of the housing boom. TAKEAWAY: When coupled with average home price appreciation that is below the rate of inflation, buying a home is still cheaper than it was more than a decade ago. 2.1 The amount of home equity U.S. homeowners will have by the end of 2018. Homeowners had $6 trillion in home equity 10 years ago. TAKEAWAY: Renting instead of owning a home is a wealth destroyer and should be avoided if at all possible. $15T WHAT'S NOT n Wom n a ed Ow TRENDS & TAKEAWAYS MORE MARKET UPDATES INSIDE! Number of Atlanta homes owned by institutional investors, nearly three times the number of the next closest U.S. city. The number of homes purchased by major investors in 2017 was up 60% from the previous year. TAKEAWAY: According to Jordan Kavana, chief executive of Transcendent Investment Management LLC, a south Florida firm that acquires rental homes primarily with investor money from China, “the American dream no longer includes homeownership. You will earn your equity in other ways, not your home.” The problem with that statement is that SOMEBODY is earning equity – why shouldn’t it be an individual borrower instead of an investor? 33K 60 Number of years since new construction homebuilding activity was as low as it is in 2018. TAKEAWAY: New construction lending appears to be one of the safest financial bets there is. MATERIALS FROM RETURNED SIGNS ARE RECYCLED Wall Street Atlanta’s overall home sales continued to be flat this summer, while homes sales in the $1,000,000- $2,000,000 price range increased significantly. #BROKERWITHBEACHAM BEACHAM INSIDER | EARLY FALL 2018