Atlanta Real Estate Podcast with Melida Potts of Potts Realty

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.

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

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.

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’llshare what the numbers have to say:The number of sales is down, even for the season. However, home prices are still up.The supply of inventory is still the same.Typically, for the market to have slowed, there must have been fewer sales, with prices havingdropped and supply having risen. So in the end, our market might have slowed down, but notenough to hinder your real estate plans. If you’re thinking of selling a house, now is still a greattime to do so!For an individual analysis of your own property, or if you have any questions, please feel free to reachout to me. I’d love to hear from you.

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.

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 beaware of. There are three, in particular, you should know before starting the home saleprocess:1. It’s more competitive. There are a lot more homes on the market, so the earlier you can listyours, 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 theoutside, people will be looking at your front yard more than they would be in the fall, winter, oreven 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 reachout to me. I’d love to help you.

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 statisticsfrom 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 greatThe 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, 2019gave us the best we’ve had in the past 15 years. Homes are sellingquickly and at decent prices. If you have any more questions about our market or you’re thinking of buying or selling ahome, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

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.

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? Hereare 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 asmore buyers. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean higher prices for you. Winter sales have a lotfewer houses, but still a steady supply of buyers. From what I’ve seen, winter sales tend to bringa 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 neverknow when the cycle starts or ends.3. When should you buy and/or sell? Whenever is most convenient for you. Interest rates arestill 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 hesitateto give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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? Youdefinitely don’t want to be stuck paying two mortgages (not to mention taxes, insurance, andutilities 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 placeto stay in the meantime, we can find with a buyer who will allow you to rent while you search fora 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.

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

Though spring and summer are often considered ideal times to sell, the fall and winter months carry three unique advantages of their own. Many people believe the fall and winter months to be a poor time to list. However, this is certainly notthe case. These later seasons actually hold several unique opportunities for sellers, and today we’llhighlight three such benefits: There is less competition. Given that fewer sellers choose to list during these months, thosewho do will face a lower level of competition. With up to 50% fewer listings on the market during the falland winter, the listings that are active during those seasons are sure to see greater success. Sellers will have fewer showings to prepare for. There are approximately 15% fewer buyers in themarket during the fall and winter, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Those who are in the market atthis time are highly motivated. In addition to that, a lower volume of buyer traffic means sellers willhave fewer showings to prepare for. There are still many sales taking place during fall and winter. Spring and summer aren’t the onlytimes of year during which sellers can succeed in our market.The bottom line is this: You still have a chance to list your home and get it sold, even in the latermonths of the year. That said, conditions between individual markets may vary. If you’re curious aboutthe outlook in your specific area, I would be happy to speak to you about your circumstances.As always, if you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a callor send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What should sellers know about listing in the seller months? There are three main points to focus on. The summer is here and things are certainly hot here in Atlanta, including our market. Sellers arecurrently in a favorable position, so, with that said, what must be done to take advantage of theseconditions? There are three factors to consider when selling your home in the summer:1. There is less activity. It may sound counterintuitive, but a smaller pool of buyers can actually be beneficial. Having fewer offers to choose from can sometimes make your role as a seller easier. 2. There are fewer sales. 3. Prices are still higher. This means sellers are able to ask for more money when listing their home.If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or sendme an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.