Relative to whether prices will continue to drop; yes, they will. Irrespective of the issues we are dealing with regarding the economy-homes that are on the market through the summer that do not sell always take a price hit in the Fall in anticipation of the holidays (Nov/Dec) slowing sales to a halt. That, coupled with the low comps in many areas that appraisers must use, will surely keep prices down for another 6-8 months.

However, in the Roswell/Alpharetta market there are areas that have great deals that investors are spotting and picking up. Also, unlike many markets, people are continuing to relocate here so our demand is not flat and thus buoys the prices somewhat.

Tue Jul 15 2008, 20:55

Hey Telmo. You are coming across as an idiot. The real estate market is not like the stock market. It moves much much much more slowly. My suggestion is that you take your spam elsewhere. Sometimes real estate is "loco"lized as you say. Like from 2001-recently. Now things are trying to return to conditions that are less insane. I'm sorry that hurts your wallet, but it's best for the country.

Tue Jul 15 2008, 20:30

The real estate market is similar to the stock market, you will never know when is the bottom and when is going up, and that's because real estate is locolized meaning it varies based on a location, even in this bad real estate market there are some neighborhoods that continue to go up. My sugestion is find the neighborhood you want to live in and follow the homes for sale. For additional homes for sale, visit my websitehttp:// www.kstrealty.com here you will be able to search by subdivisions and compare the prices.
Telmo Bermeo is a Real Estate broker located in Dunwoody GA. my direct contact number is 770-309-6417

Tue Jul 15 2008, 19:29

Steveand Tascha,

Honestly, this is the "best answer" you can come up with?

"BEST ANSWER
Now is a great time to purchase. Maybe the market will go down however maybe it will go up. To be honest our market has not suffered as much as some other parts of the nation. In fact in some neighborhoods, homes are selling for as much as 95% or more of list price. More and more sellers are pricing their homes correctly for the market."

"Maybe the market will go down however maybe it will go up", so you better buy now? That's your answer? Your "BEST ANSWER"? And you are real estate experts? Are you kidding? There is no one with any sense who has looked at any trends or statistics who thinks the market is going up. So why are you saying people should buy? Could it be out of greed and lack of scruples? Even when the market bottoms, it's going to stay there for a while. Why not advise the OP to wait a while? You base your assertion that now is a great time to buy on the fact that we aren't the Inland Empire or Vegas or Florida or Phoenix? You think that because sellers can get 95% of asking price in the Spring peak selling season that the OP ought to buy now? You make no sense. You haven't answered the OP's question honestly. But you have shown your greed and self-interest.

It's just disgraceful and disgusting. Period.

Mon Jul 14 2008, 14:50

Randy,

Your attitude seems to be the exception rather than the rule and is much appreciated on this board. Unfortunately, many others in your profession do not seem to have the same scruples.

Mon Jul 14 2008, 14:39

BEST ANSWER
Now is a great time to purchase. Maybe the market will go down however maybe it will go up. To be honest our market has not suffered as much as some other parts of the nation. In fact in some neighborhoods, homes are selling for as much as 95% or more of list price. More and more sellers are pricing their homes correctly for the market.

Mon Jul 14 2008, 10:09

Alan,

I am a Realtor, and I will be the 1st to tell you that there is much uncertainty in the market right now.
However , I believe, Alpharetta is one of the best communites to purchase in the nation.

Fact is that mortgage interest rates are still at historical lows. As to home prices, it is impossible to say if they will go up or down. For Alpharetta, I believe, some neighborhoods will increase and some will decrease. Too many factors, and Alpharetta is too large an area, to make a blanket statement.

Also everyone's situation is different, and must be considered individually. I had a client recently that purchased in John's Creek. Originally they were looking in the $350,000 price range. They were planning to pay cash. Their situation changed quickly with their financial investments, so we changed their criteria. The home they purchased (bank owned) was for $192,000 cash. They are very happy, since they got a lovely home, and walked in the door with equity of about $25,000.

In fact I have found rentals for a few of my clients recently. This is because, in my opinion, they were not prepared to buy a home at this time. Perhaps I could have convinced them to purchase, but how could I sleep at night. When I accept a client, then I look out for their best interests.

My previous, tounge in cheek, post: "My Crystal Ball says that thing will be changing after the Presidential Election. It says definitely that the economy will be improving or getting worse."

Sat Jul 12 2008, 18:01

Tori, did you not bother to read anything in this thread. You are exactly the problem. "Everything sucks, but realtors and home builders say it's the best time to buy ever!!!"

"Is there any doubt that now is a great time to buy?" Uhhh...yes.

Oh, and if I want to get wealthy, I have to buy a house right now??? Dan harps on that.

And of course, it's all the media's fault.

Yet at the end of the presentation we hear, even from a self-interested head of a realty company, that prices are not going to increase until 2010.

Tori, both you and Dan should be ashamed of yourselves.

Sat Jul 12 2008, 06:32

Hello Ocean Hill, I hope this link will shed some light on things for you. Best of luck.

http://prudentialga.announcemymove.com/announcement.php?id=a…

Fri Jul 11 2008, 21:56

All you realtors still calling bottom, both locally and nationally?

Fri Jul 11 2008, 19:07

Hey Julie,

How can you say you are listing your house now for the same price that you would in ten months? How can you possibly know that?

Fri Jul 11 2008, 17:35

I can tell you we have our house on the market right now. We will list at the same price now as we would 10 months from now. The case seems to be the same for many in our neighborhood because I don't see much of a reduction in price. Perhaps it depends on the area you choose. We tried to list at a fair price and based on the money we put into the house in improvements.

Fri Jul 11 2008, 16:04

This market as changed, but one thing we know the rates will not continue to be this low for long. It is a great time to take advantage of this economy including these low interest. There is also downpayment assistance available for first time homebuyers ranging from $7500 to $20,000. Log onto my website to get further details.

Sat Jul 5 2008, 07:01

My Crystal Ball says that thing will be changing after the Presidential Election. It says definitely that the economy will be improving or getting worse.

Tue Jul 1 2008, 21:16

Wow, going through my previous threads and I somehow missed this one had exploded. I pretty much agree with everything Alan has said. At least people here haven't started attacking the C-S index as useless as they like to in the Chicago area.

The only thing I'd like to add is that you see a lot of people claiming things like "the only way to know the bottom is when its passed".

The comment is true in absolute terms, but in real terms, its not. Home moves are very gradual and very correlated to the previous months moves. Using C-S data the correlation is .94 between previous month and this month. Also, historically housing has grown basically at the rate of inflation, so when prices are climbing at inflation again, you're at the bottom.

Graph below of C-S index vs inflation.

Thu May 29 2008, 11:49

Alan,

Thanks for the clarity; I see your point.

With respect to the housing market moving forward, I honestly do not know; although, I do think that fuel prices have people frozen. If we weren’t contending with that, then I would be more assertive in my opinion.

Respectfully,

Tue May 27 2008, 15:53

Stephen,

I'm calling into question the honesty of the Harry Norman big shot and others who knowingly give misleading information. I am not referring to you. I just wish we could get some candid assessments from agents. My whole point to begin with is that agents always say it's time to buy, buy, buy! I'm not saying that there aren't good reasons to buy right now or even that there aren't values to be had. But how about more candor?

Answer this question for me, Stephen: do you honestly believe that from this point forward things are only going to get better in the housing market not only in the Atlanta area, but nationwide, as the Harry Norman guy claimed?

Regards.

Tue May 27 2008, 15:45

Alan,

True, but fuel prices are the main culprit in my opinion.

I live by honesty. Who's ignoring all the data? The WSJ article called an end to the “crisis“. I merely offered up an alternative viewpoint with the CNN & WSJ articles, respectively. Who’s right? I suspect that we will know the answer when we look in retrospect.

Take Care,

Tue May 27 2008, 15:34