Found 23 blog entries tagged as home sellers.

Home sellers can be a prickly group. This is especially true when markets are shifting, like now as sellers lose the edge and the market balances (mid-summer ’25). The trendy label is "accidental landlord", but an accidental landlord is nothing more than a stubborn seller. They don't listen, they know best. Their home is the “exception”; they have the one that all the buyers will flock to. Data? Meh, that’s for the others, not them. They know what the house is worth, just ask them. They are "experts".

With over three decades of full time sales and appraisal experience, I’ve heard some remarkably dumb things from sellers; and by extension, their agents. I’ve witnessed levels of stupidity that make no sense, listening as seemingly educated people…

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Wake up! Is the Greater Atlanta housing market in trouble? These Q1'25 charts show a market that was active as Ole Red after he raided the garbage. This wasn't a local trend, Q1'25 across the nation was a snooze fest. Underwhelming; to be sure. Alarming; no, but we expected to see a return of the typical patterns.

Real estate should be dull and boring, the last few years made many of us forget that. The Greater Atlanta real estate market is now balanced, in most respects back to or headed toward pre-pandemic activity in all major categories. That's good, but that craziness of the last several years remains seared into our brains.  Some of the charts below are stark; taken out of context they can lead to "oh chit" first impressions. No need for that -

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A January toe stub for the greater Atlanta housing market. We usually get out of the gate early around Atlanta but not so much this January. We in the field felt it, I was curious so took a look at the data…and it confirms what we thought. This is a stumble; this market will snap back, but we see a few reasons for this lackluster start.

I’m confident that a combination of factors impacted the January ’25 activity:

  • Cold snap – Sounds dramatic (and it is) but the area had a couple of weeks of very cold weather and areas of snow and ice. That doesn’t play well in Atlanta
  • Insurance Impact – Insurance costs are rising at insane rates. We’re seeing companies refuse policies on homes with “aged”  roofs, with recent claims, in “high claim areas” and…

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A few weeks in and the lawsuit real estate commission policies from the NAR settlement are not having a noticeable local impact. In Georgia, the changes are mainly administrative and have most to do with advertising buyer agent compensation. Buyer brokerage agreements were required prior to the settlement, so not a big change there. The main changes in Georgia were added transparency in the forms, further clarity on payment of agent compensation, and that MLS services no longer advertise if the seller is offering buyer agent compensation.

And because the MSM is not accurately detailing things - sellers have not stopped offering buyer agent compensation. We have not had a single occurrence, nor have any of the agents in our orbit. Our sellers…

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The Atlanta real estate market remains strong despite the rates. We now have two full years of data since the rates jumped, two spring markets to review. While the expected drop in numbers occurred, values have not missed a beat. To be fair, the "metro Atlanta" region is far to large and diverse to paint with one brush. However, this data is useful in providing a good indicator of macro trends. Every submarket is different, as is every type and price point. Success is found by working with skilled professional agents, not some hobby hack agent with ten other side hustles. Below is a review of the six major metro counties and all price points.

Atlanta Home Prices Are Still Increasing

Higher interest rates are not slowing home appreciation in Atlanta.…

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Hey home buyers, they’ve been lying to you. They; the main stream media, the laughingly called "economic experts", the "real estate industry experts"…all of them. Straight up gaslighting you. Telling you about dropping rates, dropping prices and increasing inventory. They're straight up BS'ing you.

Buy the home now, it's not getting easier. Home prices are not substantially dropping any time soon. Not if rates drop, not if supply modestly increases and damn sure not due to the much ballyhooed “commission” changes. Buyers waiting for prices to substantially drop are wasting time and losing money. Sounds like the typical hack agent line, but serious buyers need to accept things and get it done. The cavalry isn't coming, no one is coming.

Gaslighting…

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About two years ago this month, Atlanta real estate and interest rates started a very complex relationship. The Fed slammed the brakes on low rates, and despite the initial wobble, the Atlanta real estate market found stability and firm ground. There was pain of course, many buyers were eliminated and the withdrawals from those low rates is still being felt. Two years in, we have enough data to evaluate the impact of the rate jump; the questions of “how much, how many, and how long” can be answered at this point. Comparing Feb '24 to Feb '23 and Feb '22 (six main metro counties); we see how hard those rate increases hit in '22 and how the market adjusted through '23.

Home Prices in Atlanta Continue to Rise

Median prices fluctuate as they do in every…

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Given the pandemic fueled real estate market and historically low housing inventory, it can be difficult to understand why a home fails to sell. Yet, some sellers can’t find a buyer for their home. While the market cooled into late 2023, sellers still held sway in many regional and local markets. Greater Atlanta and the multiple submarkets, remain favorable to home sellers; particularly the properly positioned ones.

There can be several reasons why a home fails to sell. It often depends on a variety of factors related to the property, market conditions, and the marketing strategy used. Incompetence and indifference among agents is always in the mix. However, it’s not rocket science and many of the reasons will be traced directly back to the owner of…

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Real estate contracts occasionally collapse due to Buyer problems, but what if the Seller bails out? Can a Buyer sue a Seller if they refuse to close? What used to be infrequent is becoming more common; Sellers backing out of contracts. They might have second thoughts about giving up a low rate or realize that maybe it’s better to keep the home they have. If that happens, what can a Buyer do?

If a Seller Refuses to Close a Real Estate Contract

In Georgia, Sellers play a less proactive role, most of the contract actions are initiated by the Buyers. If a Seller decides not to finalize the deal after all the conditions have been satisfied, the Georgia Association of Realtors contract (06/01/23) provides the following advice:

Remedies of Buyer: In…

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Technology continues to transform marketing, real estate in particular. Accuracy in real estate listings is more concerning than ever, how a home is represented and described may not always be what a buyer sees. Advertising, especially in real estate, always pushes the boundaries, but there is an expectation that the information presented is factually accurate.

Accuracy in Real Estate Listings Matters:

  • Legal Implications:  Providing inaccurate information could lead to legal issues. Misrepresentation of a property can result in lawsuits and fines. Real estate laws vary by state but there is the expectation of full disclosure of all material facts about a property. Seller disclosures are completed and assumed to be truthful but that’s not always…

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